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24  STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC. v. PRESIDENT 

AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 
THOMAS, J., concurring 

333.  Expanding on this theme, Harvard and UNC have of-
fered a grab bag of interests to justify their programs, span-
ning from “ ‘training future leaders in the public and private 
sectors’ ”  to  “ ‘enhancing  appreciation,  respect,  and  empa-
thy,’ ” with references to “ ‘better educating [their] students 
through diversity’ ” in between.  Ante, at 22–23.  The Court 
today finds that each of these interests are too vague and
immeasurable to suffice, ibid., and I agree.
  Even in Grutter, the Court failed to clearly define “the ed-
ucational benefits of a diverse student body.”  539 U. S., at 
333.  Thus, in the years since Grutter, I have sought to un-
derstand  exactly  how  racial  diversity  yields  educational 
benefits.  With nearly 50 years to develop their arguments,
neither Harvard nor UNC—two of the foremost research in-
stitutions in the world—nor any of their amici can explain
that critical link. 

Harvard, for example, offers a report finding that mean-
ingful representation of racial minorities promotes several 
goals.  Only one of those goals—“producing new knowledge
stemming from diverse outlooks,” 980 F. 3d 157, 174 (CA1
2020)—bears any possible relationship to educational ben-
efits.  Yet, it too is extremely vague and offers no indication
that, for example, student test scores increased as a result 
of Harvard’s efforts toward racial diversity.

More fundamentally, it is not clear how racial diversity,
as opposed to other forms of diversity, uniquely and inde-
pendently  advances  Harvard’s  goal.    This  is  particularly 
true because Harvard blinds itself to other forms of appli-
cant diversity, such as religion.  See 2 App. in No. 20–1199, 
pp. 734–743.  It may be the case that exposure to different 
perspectives and thoughts can foster debate, sharpen young 
minds, and hone students’ reasoning skills.  But, it is not 
clear how diversity with respect to race, qua race, furthers 
this goal.  Two white students, one from rural Appalachia
and  one  from  a  wealthy  San  Francisco  suburb,  may  well