Students for Fair Admissions Files Lawsuit Challenging Racial and Ethnic Admissions Policies at U. S. Air Force Academy
Students for Fair Admissions
2200 Wilson Blvd. #102-13
Arlington, VA 22201
StudentsForFairAdmissions.org
Press Release
For Immediate Release:
December 10, 2024
Contact:
Edward Blum
703-505-1922
Students for Fair Admissions Files Lawsuit Challenging Racial and Ethnic Admissions Policies at U. S. Air Force Academy
(Arlington, VA) Today, Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit challenging the use of race and ethnicity as admissions factors at the United States Air Force Academy.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
SFFA alleges that the Academy is violating the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment contains an equal-protection principle that binds the entire federal government and is no less strict and demanding than the Equal Protection Clause that binds the States and all public entities.
SFFA petitioned the Court to enter judgment in its favor and to provide the following relief:
- A declaratory judgment that the Academy’s use of race in admissions is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment.
- A permanent injunction prohibiting the Academy from considering or knowing an applicant’s race when making admissions decisions.
- All other relief that the Plaintiff is entitled to, including, but not limited to attorneys’ fees and costs.
The complaint is attached.
Edward Blum, president of SFFA, said, “Over the past few decades, the Air Force Academy and our other military academies have strayed from their former colorblind, merit-based admissions policies and now focus on race and ethnicity—factors that do not contribute to the qualifications of applicants.”
Blum added, “Because the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 opinion in the SFFA case expressly forbids all institutions of higher education from using race in admissions decisions, it must follow that the Air Force Academy must end their race-based policies as well.”
Blum concluded, “The Air Force Academy has no legal justification for treating applicants differently by race and ethnicity.”