Senator Webb Statement on Affirmative Action Rulings

Binghamton, NY - Today, the Supreme Court issued a regressive decision to end affirmative action in higher education, reversing a policy that opened doors for generations of students by helping create access to a quality education regardless of race or background. 

This decision represents the undoing of decades of work to ensure more equitable access to our institutions of higher education. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put it in her dissent, “deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.” Affirmative action and race-conscious admissions practices are critically important to break down the very real barriers to entry that exist for Black and Brown students across our education system.  

While this decision is deeply disappointing, it will not stop us from continuing to fight to make education accessible for students from diverse backgrounds.