The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action on June 29 after ruling that programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution.

The court has declared that race can no longer be a factor in college admissions, and though the decision will impact many universities nationwide, Colorado State University does not anticipate a change in its admissions process due to the court’s ruling.

“This constitutional ban on race-conscious admissions will impact admissions practices at many institutions,” CSU president Amy Parsons wrote in an all-campus email Thursday morning. “Here at CSU, the court’s decision will not affect the undergraduate admissions process we have had in place for decades.”

Parsons also included that this past year’s incoming freshman class was the largest ever admitted with more than 5,700 students. Of these students, 28% were from diverse backgrounds, 25% were first-generation students, and 60% were Colorado residents with several hundred students coming from rural communities.

“Our university’s commitment to access, inclusion, and academic excellence has never been stronger. The doors of opportunity remain wide open at CSU, and today’s Supreme Court decision doesn’t change that.” — CSU President Amy Parsons

“To prospective students and families who fear this ruling will change their access to a CSU education, nothing could be further from the truth,” Parsons said in the email. “An undergraduate education at CSU remains available to all qualified students with the talent and determination to attend a top-tier research university.”

In line with President Biden’s statement saying colleges, “… should not abandon their commitment to ensure student bodies of diverse backgrounds and experience that reflect all of America,” Parsons reaffirmed CSU’s commitment to inclusion.

“This decision is an occasion to reaffirm that we are an inclusive academic community,” Parsons wrote. “Our university’s commitment to access, inclusion, and academic excellence has never been stronger. The doors of opportunity remain wide open at CSU, and today’s Supreme Court decision doesn’t change that.”

Though Parsons said she is confident that CSU admissions will see no impact, schools with active race-based admissions policies will see immediate changes. Affirmative action was intended to increase access to higher education by combating race-based discrimination. Justices disagree on whether or not affirmative action is an inclusive policy.

The decision passed with a vote of 6-3 in the UNC case and 6-2 in the Harvard case, for which Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was recused due to a former position with the university.

Though she could not contribute to the outcome of the Harvard decision, Jackson wrote, “With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”

Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor read summaries of their opinions in court, and though both justices have acknowledged affirmative action contributed to their admissions into higher education, Thomas voted with the majority.

Thomas wrote in the decision that he “sees the universities’ admissions policies for what they are: rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in their entering classes.”

Reach Ivy Secrest at news@collegian.com or on  Twitter @IvySecrest.