Reflections on Affirmative Action and Identity

Donald Trump has a big plan to remake American universities. On this week’s On the Media, hear how the distinctly American idea of “diversity” has fallen out of favor—from higher education to the Supreme Court. 

Reporter Ilya Marritz explains how the deep history of Harvard and the concept of “diversity” is the hidden subtext for much of the recent strife. In the past half-century, the academy (and the business world) embraced the idea of diversity as a social good–an idea developed at Harvard and endorsed by the Supreme Court, until the latter ended race-based affirmative action in 2023. This episode also looks at what’s in store for universities as the incoming Trump-Vance administration promises to pressure them to change curricula.

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