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Judge Upholds Naval Academy's Race-Based Admissions, Citing National Security

Dec 6, 2024, 06:21 PM

A federal judge in Maryland ruled on Friday that the U.S. Naval Academy may continue to consider race as a factor in its admissions process, upholding the institution's race-conscious admissions policies. The decision rejects a challenge brought by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the conservative legal group led by Edward Blum that successfully sued to end affirmative action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina in a landmark Supreme Court case earlier this year. That Supreme Court decision had explicitly carved out an exception for military academies, declining to address their admissions policies. In his ruling, the judge emphasized that achieving diversity within the Naval Academy's student body is a matter of national security, stating that a diverse military is stronger, more effective, and more widely respected. The court declined to extend the Supreme Court's decision, which barred civilian colleges from employing similar affirmative action policies, to the military academies. Attorneys for the Naval Academy argued that diversity is essential for the development of future military leaders. SFFA has vowed to appeal the decision, potentially taking the case to the Supreme Court.