Over 100 students gathered on the Main Green Thursday, calling for the University to end legacy admissions and move to a test-optional admissions process.聽
鈥淲hat matters? Race matters,鈥� the students shouted.
The rally, led by and the Undergraduate Council of Students鈥� , was organized ahead of the Supreme Court鈥檚 to overturn affirmative action later this year.
鈥淥ur diversity is our strength,鈥� said Niyanta Nepal 鈥�25, SEE co-president, to the crowd at the rally. 鈥淎ffirmative action is a critical tool in this effort, as it allows us to level the playing field for historically underrepresented communities.鈥澛�
In the possible absence of affirmative action, Nepal called for the University to permanently commit to test-optional admissions, a policy that has been temporarily in place for prospective undergraduates since the 2020-2021 admission cycle.
A spokesperson from the University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nepal also called for the University to abolish legacy admissions, which allows admission officers to consider whether an applicant鈥檚 family members attended the University. The policy 鈥渉as no place in our university,鈥� she said.
Legacy admissions rob 鈥渟eats from systematically marginalized populations,鈥� according to former SEE co-President Zo毛 Fuad 鈥�23.5. 鈥淚t is far past time to end this archaic policy.鈥�
In the absence of race-based admissions, Brown may turn to legacy admissions as one way to continue admitting a diverse class, Associate Provost for Enrollment Logan Powell previously said at a University-sponsored panel last month.
Brown 鈥渉as admitted increasingly diverse classes of students, which means that their children are increasingly diverse,鈥� Powell noted, explaining that roughly one-third of the legacy students and student-athletes on campus self-identify as students of color.
Speakers such as SEE co-President Jada Wooten 鈥�24 highlighted the possible consequences of overturning affirmative action on Brown鈥檚 .
鈥淎ffirmative action means that colleges and universities are at least attempting to repair U.S. schools鈥� disregard of Black students, teachers and curricula,鈥� Wooten said to the crowd. 鈥淎ffirmative action means more Black students have the opportunity for social mobility in a world created so we stay on the bottom.鈥澛�
鈥淯nfortunately, I have witnessed firsthand how repealing affirmative action means reducing the percentage of Black students and schools鈥� overall diversity,鈥� Wooten added.
Wooten, who is a Michigan native, referenced her home state鈥檚 at public universities, which of Black students at the University of Michigan from 7% to 4% and Native American Students from 1% to 0.11%.
Skye Alex Jackson 鈥�25, UCS chair of equity and inclusion, recalled the history of Black student activism at Brown during her speech to the crowd.
鈥淚n 1966, 65 Black students walked out in protest of Brown's lack of commitment to students of color,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淭hey fought the administration to increase black student admission (to) over 11%.鈥澛�
鈥淚t was student activism that led to the diversity we see on the campus around us,鈥� Jackson added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 student (activism) that we need now.鈥�
Neil Mehta is the editor-in-chief and president of the Brown Daily Herald's 134th editorial board. They study public health and statistics at Brown. Outside the office, you can find Neil baking and playing Tetris.
