(FixThisNation.com) – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, faced criticism last Thursday after her remarks on the Supreme Court’s decision about affirmative action. She questioned the court’s sincerity over its so-called ‘colorblindness’ stance, arguing that if it were truly the case, legacy admissions would have been abolished.
In a tweet, Ocasio-Cortez dubbed legacy admissions as “affirmative action for those with privilege.” She highlighted the fact that 70% of Harvard’s legacy applicants were white, and criticized the Supreme Court for its reluctance to address this issue, fearing potential repercussions.
Her comments were posted online in the wake of the court’s ruling that considering race as a factor in college admissions violated the 14th Amendment, which ensures equal protection for all citizens of the United States.
Her viewpoint received backlash from a number of social media users, who claimed that the Supreme Court wasn’t dealing with a case about legacy admissions. One user underlined that while the Constitution explicitly mentions racial discrimination, there is a provision related to benefits for relatives of alumni. The user argued that this issue was legal, rather than a mere “policy preference.”
Another user maintained that legacy admissions had no relation to race-based admissions, labeling it a practice Ocasio-Cortez merely disapproved of. They drew a distinction between affirmative action, which had specific racial criteria for selection, and legacy admissions.
Conservative attorney and commentator, Viva Frei, also made a case for a correlation between the proportion of white legacy applicants at Harvard and the overall U.S. population. He tweeted that while 70% of legacy applicants at Harvard were white, whites also make up 71% of the U.S. population.
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