[Image of the protest at Harvard by Eddie Chu, a current summer school student]

On June 29th, 2023, the Supreme Court rejected college’s use of affirmative action. 

Affirmative action in college admissions is a set of policies that was established to provide equal opportunities to those who are discriminated against based on a broad range of identities.

The Supreme Court's harsh decision applied to prestigious colleges including Havard.

The case against affirmative action was brought by a conservative activist, Edward Blum. 

Edward Blum has previously challenged racial preference laws, including his activism against affirmative action in University of Texas in 2013. 

The declaration of the Supreme Court means that racial factors will no longer be considered. 

On July 1st, 2023, Harvard students including Rebecca Zhang (a rising sophomore at Havard) organised a protest against the unjust actions of the Supreme Court. 

The protest was organised by several rising sophomores attending Harvard University.

Posters for the event were put up in the residential halls of the university. 

A huge number of students, as well as reporters, gathered around in front of the John Harvard statue at 2 PM. 

Undergraduate students handed out free T-shirts as well as posters, badges, and chant sheets for people who gathered to voice their concerns. 

Their voices echoed across the Harvard yard and were able to gather more people that were passing by. 

The protesters specifically targeted the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) organisation that is led by Edward Blum by rewording the acronyms to ‘Students for Fucked Admissions’. 

For instance, one of the Harvard protest chants “Hey hey” said:

“Hey Hey (clap), ho ho (clap), Edward Blum has got to GO

Hey Hey (clap), ho ho (clap), Send him home ‘cause we say NO!”

Likewise, another protest targeted Edward Blum:

“SFFA give up, you’re wrong!

Students of colour do belong

Edward Blum, what are you on?

Asian students are not your pawns!

You can’t get rid of us, or our bond

We’ll come together, and stay strong!”

Other chants focused on diversity, solidarity and justice, or addressed different concerns of minority groups including: Black students, Latinx students, Native students, and Asian students. 

Posters of the protesters pointed out the irony of the 43% of White Harvard acceptees that are legacy, athletes, and children of donors. 

The protest continued in front of the Science Centre, where several guest speakers were able to voice their personal experiences. 

One of the speeches given by Jean-Louis strictly criticised how SFFA is promoting a colourblind view of America. 

She specifically mentioned that “A colorblind world is a white world,” when commenting on the actions of conservative organisations. 

Another guest speaker, alumna Lisa M. Brown, also commented on the unjust colourblind view of the Supreme Court.

“In a world where, and specifically a country where, it still is clear that race matters in ways that still disadvantage people of colour, that the Supreme Court could even entertain the idea that we’re in a colorblind society is troubling,” she said.

After the speeches from the guest speaker, the protesters marched around the Harvard campus, making their way in front of the Smith’s centre. 

Comments from others were unavoidable. For instance, a White elderly man aggressively shouted at the protesters, saying that they have to pay to voice their opinions in front of the Smith’s centre. 

After approximately an hour and a half of protesting, students and other protesters dissolved from the scene.