WASHINGTON (AP) – After decades of slow growth, the number of black students enrolled in many elite universities has declined in the two years since the Supreme Court ruling. Affirmative action banned On some campuses, blacks make up just 2% of the freshman class, according to an Associated Press analysis.
New admissions numbers from 20 highly selective universities show plenty of evidence that black enrollment is slipping. On nearly every campus, black students make up a smaller share of new students this fall than they did in 2023. At Princeton University and some other universities, the number of black freshmen students fell by almost half during this period.
Christopher Quire, a sophomore at Princeton University, said he was surprised when only half the venue was filled at a recent event welcoming black freshmen. Last year we filled up quickly and had to find additional chairs.
“If this trend continues, in three years this campus will be as black as it was during the civil rights movement,” said Quire, a member of the campus’ Black Student Union. “I feel like they’re tying my legs and telling me to try again.”
While some universities have downplayed the trend of just two years, questions have arisen about who should join the elite campuses that open the door to America’s upper class. This issue has also come to the fore as the Trump administration launches a new campaign. police university They believe they are quietly factoring race into admissions decisions, ignoring the 2023 High Court ruling.
Universities are slow to release data amid intense scrutiny
The AP analysis provides information on 20 campuses that have announced enrollment numbers this fall. The national situation remains uncertain, with an increasing number of universities delaying the release of statistics amid scrutiny from the federal government. The Associated Press requested data from dozens of the nation’s most selective universities, but many of those that had released their numbers by this time last year declined to share it.
Many campuses are also seeing a decline in Hispanic students, but the decline is more dispersed and less pronounced. Trends were mixed for white and Asian American students.
However, the decline in black enrollment is clear.
Of the 20 campuses, only Smith College had a higher percentage of black students in this year’s freshman class than in 2023. Tulane University’s numbers were flat. Other universities saw significant declines over the two-year period, with black enrollment dropping from only 7% or 8% of the student body. In contrast, black students make up about 14% of American high school graduates.
At Caltech and Bates College, only about 2% of this year’s incoming students identified as black.
in harvard universitynew numbers released Thursday show Black enrollment has declined for the second year in a row, from 18% of freshmen in 2023 to 11.5% this fall. Ivy League campuses have also seen a decline in Latino enrollment, but an increase in the number of Asian Americans.
students notice dramatic changes
princeton university Last year, the country appeared to have weathered the turmoil with its racial composition remaining roughly the same. But this fall, the number of black students in new classes has dropped to 5% from 9% last year. According to the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, 1968 was the last time black students made up such a small percentage of new students.
Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Princeton University, said the decision was the result of natural fluctuations in the application pool, adding that Princeton was “strictly adhering” to the court’s requirements.
Some students say they can’t ignore it. Quire, a sophomore, said it threatens the campus’ decades of progress as a stepping stone to social mobility.
“We’re very confused about what changed and whether we should expect this to be a fluke,” Quire said.
President Trump increases oversight of college admissions
James Murphy, director of the Education Reform Now think tank, which studies the impact of affirmative action rulings, said other factors may be contributing to the change. Biden administration’s Problematic rollout He said new forms of federal financial aid may have had an impact, potentially causing some universities to back away from diversity efforts that the Trump administration had sought to eliminate.
“There aren’t a lot of higher education institutions that are actively pushing back against the White House,” Murphy said. “We expect there will be increased pressure on the Trump administration to hit the numbers it wants.”
President Donald Trump increased oversight of college admissions in August, ordering schools to release large amounts of enrollment data each year. The aim is to expose universities that he accuses of using “racial proxies” to sway admissions decisions, such as diversity statements that encourage students to discuss their backgrounds.
Conservative groups are also watching closely. Last year, Students for Fair Admissions threatened to sue Princeton, Yale and Duke Universities if Asian American enrollment declined after the ruling, an outcome the group said would be “impossible under true race neutrality.” The group argued that black, Latino and white students are being admitted to elite universities over more qualified Asian American students.
Some are still thinking about how to build campus diversity
Richard Kahlenberg, a researcher at the Progressive Policy Institute, said that, on average, the decline appears to be less steep than some university leaders expected. And he believes universities can still do more to promote racial diversity, such as giving more preferential treatment to students from low-income families and eliminating racial discrimination. Legacy settings It tends to benefit wealthy white students.
“We don’t want people to draw conclusions from the data that the situation is hopeless,” he says.
Earlier this month, Kennedy Beal, a junior at Princeton University, was walking on campus with his visiting brother when he was asked a question he couldn’t answer: “Where are all the black men?” They walked around the campus for more than two hours but found nothing.
Beal said this sends a message that black students don’t belong there. With so few black students on campus to begin with, she says she feels stripped of any sense of community.
“It feels like we’re going back in time a little bit, and it’s heartbreaking, but at the same time, we still believe that we’re going to persevere,” Beal said. “We will continue to demonstrate our excellence in these institutions.”
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