Harvard sees decline in Black enrolment after Supreme Court ruling

Harvard University has reported a significant drop in Black student enrollment for its freshman class, the first after the US Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions.

According to data released on Wednesday, Black students now make up 14% of the incoming class, a 4% decrease from the previous year. Meanwhile, Latino representation increased to 16%, and Asian-American enrollment remained steady at 37%.

Harvard's decline reflects a broader trend, as other prominent institutions, including MIT, Tufts University, and Amherst College, also reported drops in Black student enrollment.

MIT saw the most significant reduction, with Black student numbers falling from 15% to 5%.

Amherst experienced a decline from 11% to 3%, while Tufts’ Black freshmen enrollment dropped from 7.3% to 4.7%.

The Supreme Court ruling, centered around Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has forced universities to reconsider their admissions strategies.

While some, like Yale and Princeton, saw only slight shifts in diversity, the overall impact on enrollment of students of color is raising concerns among advocates for campus diversity.

Jeannie Park, co-founder of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, urged the university to address these declines by considering test-optional admissions and ending legacy preferences.

Despite the challenges, Harvard's dean of admissions, William Fitzsimmons, reiterated the institution's commitment to inclusivity, stating, "We will continue to fulfill our mission while adhering to the law."