A prestigious law school journal reportedly told minority applicants they would get extra points for writing essays about their race despite a Supreme Court ban on racial preferences in college admissions.
Duke Law Journal encouraged applicants for its editorial board in 2024 to submit personal statements on how being in an âunderrepresented groupâ will help the journal promote âdiverse voices,â The Washington Free Beacon reported Monday, citing an internal memo shared with students. The document reportedly told students in the law schoolâs identity-based âaffinity groupsâ not to share the information with other students.
The journal, copyrighted on Duke Law Schoolâs website as part of the school, told applicants from affinity groups that they would get ten extra points for the essay about their race and another three to five points if they âhold a leadership positionâ in the affinity group, the Free Beacon reported.
The journalâs website says it awards the editorial positions to approximately 39-47 rising second-year students out of more than 750 students enrolled at Duke Law School. Obtaining a law journal position is widely considered beneficial to a studentâs future career in the legal field.
The Duke Law Journal memo contained examples of the race-focused essays that would secure bonus points for applicants, the Free Beacon reported. In one sample essay, an author wrote that âas an Asian-American woman and a daughter of immigrants, I am afforded with different perspectives, experiences, and privileges,â according to the outlet.
The Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that it is unconstitutional for universities to factor race into admissions policies while receiving federal funds. The courtâs opinion also warned schools not to attempt subtle injections of race into their policies to skirt the ruling.
Duke Law School and the Duke Law Journal did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundationâs requests for comment.
âUniversities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today,â Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the courtâs majority. Legal experts expressed concern after the ruling that universities would try to do so anyway.
Colleges face lawsuits in multiplestates over allegations of discriminatory hiring and scholarship practices in the name of diversity. The Trump administrationâs Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in March that it would investigate several California universities suspected of violating the Supreme Courtâs 2023 ruling.
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