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STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC. v. PRESIDENT 
AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 
Opinion of the Court 

nonprofit organization founded in 2014 whose purpose is “to
defend human and civil rights secured by law, including the
right of individuals to equal protection under the law.”  980 
F. 3d,  at  164  (internal  quotation  marks  omitted).    In  No-
vember  2014,  SFFA  filed  separate  lawsuits  against  Har-
vard College and the University of North Carolina, arguing
that their race-based admissions programs violated, respec-
tively, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 
42 U. S. C. §2000d et seq., and the Equal Protection Clause 
of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.2    See  397  F. Supp. 3d,  at 
131–132; 567 F. Supp. 3d, at 585–586.  The District Courts 
in both cases held bench trials to evaluate SFFA’s claims. 
See 980 F. 3d, at 179; 567 F. Supp. 3d, at 588.  Trial in the 
Harvard case lasted 15 days and included testimony from
30  witnesses,  after  which  the  Court  concluded  that  Har-
vard’s admissions program comported with our precedents
  See  397 
on  the  use  of  race  in  college  admissions.
F. Supp. 3d,  at  132,  183.    The  First  Circuit  affirmed  that 
determination.  See  980  F. 3d,  at  204.    Similarly,  in  the
UNC case, the District Court concluded after an eight-day
trial that UNC’s admissions program was permissible un-
der the Equal Protection Clause.  567 F. Supp. 3d, at 588, 
666. 

We granted certiorari in the Harvard case and certiorari

before judgment in the UNC case.  595 U. S. ___ (2022). 

—————— 

2 Title VI provides that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the 
ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any 
program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”  42 U. S. C. 
§2000d.  “We have explained that discrimination that violates the Equal
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment committed by an insti-
tution that accepts federal funds also constitutes a violation of Title VI.” 
Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U. S. 244, 276, n. 23 (2003).  Although JUSTICE 
GORSUCH  questions  that  proposition,  no  party  asks  us  to  reconsider  it. 
We accordingly evaluate Harvard’s admissions program under the stand-
ards of the Equal Protection Clause itself.