Today, Presidential candidate Chris Dodd released the following statement on today's Supreme Court ruling that limits criteria schools can use to create a diverse environment.
"I am deeply disturbed by the Supreme Court's decision to limit the ability of schools to create a diverse learning environment, which runs counter to the letter and spirit of Brown v. Board of Education. With their ruling today, the court will add to the resegregation that is already occurring in our nation's schools.
"Diversity benefits all children and improves educational quality. In our increasingly global society, a greater understanding of other cultures is not simply a benefit, but a necessity. I have long supported affirmative action in higher education because I believe our colleges have an obligation to foster a multicultural environment and prepare our children for lives as members of a diverse society. I find it appalling that the court is now willing to disregard over fifty years of educational policy and racial progress in our elementary and secondary schools to the detriment of the American people.
"Unfortunately, today's ruling is not an isolated incident. I am greatly disappointed that the Roberts court continues to show blatant hostility toward existing precedent, eroding the rights of free speech, fair elections, and education policy in the process. As Justice Stevens so eloquently stated, 'Until today, this Court understood the Constitution as affording the people, acting through their elected representatives, freedom to select the use of "race-conscious" criteria from among their available options. Today, however, the Court restricts (and some Members would eliminate) that leeway. I fear the consequences of doing so for the law, for the schools, for the democratic process, and for America's efforts to create, out of its diversity, one Nation.'"
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