The hottest Affirmative Action Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top U.S. Politics Topics

Trump's executive orders: Five big takeaways

Noahpinion • 23706 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is very controversial because it changes who can be a citizen based on their parents' visa status. Many believe this could lead to legal battles in court.
  2. His orders to limit environmental reviews have received praise as they could make it easier to get projects approved faster, addressing some concerns about long approval times.
  3. There is a growing perception among some that Trump's policies are targeting not just illegal immigration but also skilled legal immigration, which could affect America's ability to attract top talent.

Yes, Affirmative Action Justifies Discrimination

Cremieux Recueil • 893 implied HN points • 18 Dec 25
🚌 Education Affirmative Action
  1. Affirmative action often results in beneficiaries being, on average, less qualified by standard ability measures than those selected without preference, which creates measurable performance gaps.
  2. Because those gaps devalue the credentials of favored groups, it can be rational for employers or consumers to avoid or discriminate against beneficiaries to protect quality.
  3. These effects misallocate talent, strengthen credentialism, and lack solid evidence of compensating benefits, making affirmative action both practically harmful and morally questionable.

The Exquisite Irony of Claudine Gay's Downfall

Glenn Loury • 3630 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. Defenders claim that ousting Claudine Gay was more about race and ideology than academic integrity, but it still doesn't excuse plagiarism.
  2. Being a university president may require more than being a noteworthy scholar; skills like administration and fundraising could take precedence.
  3. The debate on affirmative action and academic standards for black students is complex, with implications for diversity, standards, and systemic corruption.
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Burn Down the Admissions System

Persuasion • 2358 implied HN points • 30 Jun 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The end of affirmative action could lead to a crucial change in the flawed admissions system.
  2. Elite colleges might exploit loopholes to maintain unjust practices like legacy admissions, donor preferences, and subjective personal statements.
  3. The personal statement component of admissions can perpetuate privilege, as it is subjective and prone to manipulation, undermining the fairness of the system.

Affirmative Action's Demise and Higher Education

Glenn’s Substack • 2260 implied HN points • 29 Jun 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The Supreme Court ruling against Harvard and UNC impacts diversity and affirmative action practices in higher education.
  2. The Court previously deferred to universities on the compelling interest of diversity, but now requires limits within the constitution.
  3. Higher education's declining reputation may lead to less favorable treatment in the judiciary system.

What’s Next for College Admissions?

Persuasion • 1356 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🚌 Education Affirmative Action
  1. Colleges face a choice: be transparent in admissions or continue with murky criteria.
  2. Removing test scores can worsen inequality in admissions, favoring the rich even more.
  3. Making college more accessible and transparent can benefit disadvantaged students and improve trust in higher education.

Christopher Caldwell: The Biggest Policy Change of the Century

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2810 implied HN points • 28 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. Trump's decision to repeal affirmative action is seen as a massive shift in U.S. policy, more impactful than healthcare reforms or pandemic responses.
  2. For decades, affirmative action has been a major strategy for promoting desegregation and supporting minority rights, but it has recently faced growing criticism.
  3. Despite its significance, many mainstream news outlets are downplaying this policy change, treating it as just a minor leadership adjustment.

Are White People a Protected Class Now?

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1340 implied HN points • 08 Jun 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The Supreme Court has ended affirmative action, which changes how universities and companies can consider race in hiring and admissions.
  2. After the George Floyd protests, many companies reportedly hired very few white individuals, focusing more on diversity and inclusivity.
  3. New court rulings now state that certain diversity hiring practices could be seen as discrimination, which raises questions about fairness in hiring.

Racial Preferences May End, but the Fight Will Continue

Glenn Loury • 3551 implied HN points • 18 Jun 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The Supreme Court is expected to end racial preferences in college admissions, but the fight for racial equality will continue.
  2. Advocates suggest shifting preferences from race to socioeconomics to better address disparities in access to education.
  3. Maintaining racial preferences based on outdated assumptions about disadvantages faced by black students may actually hinder progress towards equality.

The End of Racial Discrimination and the Beginning of National Self-Knowledge

Glenn Loury • 1924 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. Racial discrimination has been a part of America's history but is being addressed through legal decisions.
  2. Limited affirmative action may have been necessary in the past, but now it's time for a more race-neutral approach.
  3. The Supreme Court's decisions on affirmative action highlight the importance of upholding the principles of equality and individualism.

Columbia Is Still Discriminating

Cremieux Recueil • 791 implied HN points • 24 Jun 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. Columbia University is still not following the law regarding admissions, as they continue to use race in a way that seems discriminatory against Asian and White students.
  2. Test-optional policies allow schools to hide the truth about their admissions practices, making it harder to spot any biases or discrimination.
  3. Reforming the data collection system for college admissions will help expose unfair practices and ensure that schools are held accountable for their actions.

What I read this week...

chamathreads • 1061 implied HN points • 09 Jul 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The newsletter included articles on U.S. resilience, life after affirmative action, and pickleball issues.
  2. Topics covered in the newsletter included wind and solar power, legacy college admissions, and the impact of affirmative action on different racial groups.
  3. There were articles on global events such as China restricting mineral exports, Singapore's falling home prices, and the personality profiles of high-net-worth individuals.

Don't mess with the Zohran

Philosophy bear • 214 implied HN points • 05 Jul 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. A person named Zohran is being accused of misrepresenting his race to get into Columbia University. He marked himself as 'Black or African American' on his application because he grew up in Africa.
  2. While he made a questionable choice about his race, there isn't strong evidence that he intentionally lied. Many people pick options they think will help them, especially in competitive situations like college admissions.
  3. The issue has been made more complicated because the information about his application was leaked in a shady way. This raises questions about whether it's right to judge someone based on information that isn't ethically obtained.

The court's colorblindness scam

Science Forever • 318 implied HN points • 03 Jul 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The recent affirmative action decision by the US Supreme Court has both short-term and long-term damaging effects, particularly impacting students of color and their academic performance.
  2. The court's ruling did not invalidate admission preferences for legacy applicants, athletes, donors' children, and faculty members' children, which predominantly benefit white applicants.
  3. The decision raises questions about the inconsistency in the application of color blindness, as it critiques race-based preferences for some applicants while not addressing others.

What's Next for Affirmative Action

OLD GOATS with Jonathan Alter • 196 implied HN points • 01 Jul 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. The Supreme Court decision outlawed race-based preferences in college admissions, leading to a need for class-based preferences for maintaining diversity.
  2. Justice Sotomayor's dissent highlighted the importance of affirmative action programs for first-generation and low-income students, finding common ground among liberal and conservative justices.
  3. Class-based affirmative action solutions aim to achieve both racial and economic diversity in colleges, with examples from various institutions showing positive results.

The Distraction & Distortion of Affirmative Action

The Discourse Lounge • 740 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. Affirmative Action has helped improve earnings for Black, Hispanic, and Native American individuals.
  2. Recent rulings on Affirmative Action in colleges have minimal practical impact due to existing admissions practices.
  3. Conservatives have strategically shifted focus and created distractions around Affirmative Action, aiming to diminish its importance in addressing racial inequality.

Affirmative Action: A Primer, & A Finger Exercise

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 315 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Affirmative Action
  1. In a society with structural racism, even a good meritocratic system can unfairly advantage privileged groups and disadvantage marginalized ones.
  2. Meritocratic tests can also perpetuate structural racism, leading to unfair outcomes in job selection.
  3. Choosing the best people for a job involves considering and addressing structural racism in both access to resources and the testing process.