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California’s long-standing affirmative action ban hints at what’s to come

Alternative race-neutral polices have fallen far short in encouraging diversity, research shows

A photo of an outdoor space with tables with a few university students sitting at some of the tables.

California banned affirmative action in the late 1990s. Public universities such as the University of California, Irvine (pictured) introduced race-neutral alternatives to try to maintain student diversity. Those efforts largely fell short.

Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

By Sujata Gupta

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a half-century of precedent and made it illegal for public and private universities and colleges to consider race in student admissions.