Page:Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.pdf/186

Rh trial that racial self-identification was an important component of their application because without it they would not be able to present a full version of themselves. For example, Rimel Mwamba, a Blackblack [sic] UNC alumna, testified that it was “really important” that UNC see who she is “holistically and how the color of [her] skin and the texture of [her] hair impacted [her] upbringing.” 2 App. in No. 21–707, p. 1033. Itzel Vasquez-Rodriguez, who identifies as Mexican-American of Cora descent, testified that her ethnoracial identity is a “core piece” of who she is and has impacted “every experience” she has had, such that she could not explain her “potential contributions to Harvard without any reference” to it. 2 App. in No. 20–1199, at 906, 908. Sally Chen, a Harvard alumna who identifies as Chinese American, explained that being the child of Chinese immigrants was “really fundamental to explaining who” she is. Id., at 968–969. Thang Diep, a Harvard alumnus, testified that his Vietnamese identity was “such a big part” of himself that he needed to discuss it in his application. Id., at 949. And Sarah Cole, a Blackblack [sic] Harvard alumna, emphasized that “[t]o try to not see [her] race is to try to not see [her] simply because there is no part of [her] experience, no part of [her] journey, no part of [her] life that has been untouched by [her] race.” Id., at 932.

In a single paragraph at the end of its lengthy opinion, the Court suggests that “nothing” in today’s opinion prohibits universities from considering a student’s essay that explains “how race affected [that student’s] life.” This supposed recognition that universities can, in some situations, consider race in application essays is nothing but an attempt to put lipstick on a pig. The Court’s opinion circumscribes universities’ ability to consider race in any form by meticulously gutting respondents’ asserted diversity interests. See. Yet, because the Court cannot escape the inevitable truth that race matters in students’ lives, it announces a false promise to save face and appear