Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_l6gn.pdf
Page Number: 35.0

Cite as:  600 U. S. ____ (2023) 

27 

Opinion of the Court 

B 
The race-based admissions systems that respondents em-
ploy  also  fail  to  comply  with  the  twin  commands  of  the 
Equal Protection Clause that race may never be used as a 
“negative” and that it may not operate as a stereotype. 

First,  our  cases  have  stressed  that  an  individual’s  race 
may never be used against him in the admissions process. 
Here, however, the First Circuit found that Harvard’s con-
sideration of race has led to an 11.1% decrease in the num-
ber of Asian-Americans admitted to Harvard.  980 F. 3d, at 
170, n. 29.  And the District Court observed that Harvard’s 
“policy of considering applicants’ race . . . overall results in 
fewer Asian American and white students being admitted.” 
397 F. Supp. 3d, at 178.

Respondents  nonetheless  contend  that  an  individual’s
race  is  never  a  negative  factor  in  their  admissions  pro-
grams, but that assertion cannot withstand scrutiny.  Har-
vard,  for  example,  draws  an  analogy  between  race  and 
other factors it considers in admission.  “[W]hile admissions
officers may give a preference to applicants likely to excel 
in  the  Harvard-Radcliffe  Orchestra,”  Harvard  explains, 
“that does not mean it is a ‘negative’ not to excel at a musi-
cal instrument.”  Brief for Respondent in No. 20–1199, at 
51.  But on Harvard’s logic, while it gives preferences to ap-
plicants  with  high  grades  and  test  scores,  “that  does  not 
mean it is a ‘negative’ ” to be a student with lower grades
and lower test scores.  Ibid.  This understanding of the ad-
missions process is hard to take seriously.  College admis-
sions are zero-sum.  A benefit provided to some applicants
but not to others necessarily advantages the former group 
at the expense of the latter. 

Respondents also suggest that race is not a negative fac-
tor because it does not impact many admissions decisions.
See id., at 49; Brief for University Respondents in No. 21–
707, at 2.  Yet, at the same time, respondents also maintain
that  the  demographics  of  their  admitted  classes  would