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SCOTUS affirmative action ruling not likely to have big impact in Montana

Court ruled colleges and universities cannot use race to determine whether someone gets accepted or not
Empty GFC-MSU classroom
Posted at 1:41 PM, Jul 06, 2023
and last updated 2023-07-07 15:07:09-04

GREAT FALLS — Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on May 29 regarding the use of affirmative action in the college admission process, for decades colleges and universities had been able to ask prospective students about their race when deciding whether or not to admit them.

While the court's decision will, no doubt, have impacts for colleges and universities across the country, in Montana there isn't expected to be much, if any, impact.

At Great Falls College-MSU and other schools part of the University of Montana system, there are plenty of seats available in classrooms for students.

"All universities and colleges in the Montana University system don't limit our enrollment," GFC-MSU Marketing and Communication Director Scott Thompson said.

Thompson said he also doesn't foresee a time when the schools would have to limit enrollment.

Writing the U.S. Supreme Court's majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said many universities wrongly concluded the color of someone's skin is how a person's identity should be measured and "The Nation's constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."

"We're just happy to be able to continue to do our utmost to continue to reflect the diversity of the north central Montana community as we always have," said Thompson. "We make sure that we are being inclusive in everything we do."



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