There's a diversity dilemma in Cambridge, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology saying its incoming freshman class will not be as diverse as previous classes due to a landmark decision by the Supreme Court.
"As a baseline, in recent years around 25% of our enrolling undergraduate students have identified as Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American and Pacific Islander. For the incoming Class of 2028, that number is about 16%," MIT's Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill told MIT News.
On Wednesday, MIT became one of the first universities to release demographic data on its incoming class.
"It is not totally unsurprising, but it still troubling," said Julie J. Park, a professor at the University of Maryland College Park.
Park also served as a consulting expert for Harvard University, back when it was sued over affirmative action. The Supreme Court's ruling in that case, and a similar one in North Carolina, ended the practice of using race as a factor in college admissions.
"We have decades of research that indicates that there are numerous educational benefits that are linked with engaging with racial diversity during the college years," Park said. "There are things that can be done, not sure if colleges and universities will be brave enough to try them, but there are things."
Tufts University Professor Natasha Warikoo agrees, adding schools will now need to double down on recruitment and get creative with financial aid to ensure diversity on campus.
"Affirmative action was a policy that tried to make up those different lived experiences just a little bit, so, you know it is problematic it can't be used anymore," Professor Warikoo said. "Diversity creates a learning environment in which there are a range of perspectives in the classroom based on a range of lived experiences."
In a video statement released Wednesday, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the school will do more to ensure diversity on campus.
"We need to seek out new approaches, we need to make sure that the opportunity pipeline is wide open and we need to be prepared to think big, and long term," Kornbluth said.
NBC10 Boston also reached out to Harvard University, Tufts University, Boston University, Boston College and Northeastern for this story. Harvard and Tufts told us they were not prepared to release demographic data, with Tufts saying it may be ready in the coming weeks.
