Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy take part in the second formal parade of the season on Sept. 29, 2023. (Stacy Godfrey/U.S. Navy)
A group that recently sued to block the consideration of race in admissions to West Point filed a similar lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Naval Academy.
The latest lawsuit from Students for Fair Admissions was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. It seeks to prevent the Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md., from taking race into account in the selection of an entering class of midshipmen.
Students for Fair Admissions sued the U.S. Military Academy, in West Point, N.Y., on Sept. 19. Both suits are seeking to build on the group’s victory at the Supreme Court in June. The high court delivered a landmark opinion striking down race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a ruling that affects colleges and universities throughout the country.
But a footnote in the ruling left open the question of race in admissions to the military service academies. It stated that no military academies were a party to the lawsuits against Harvard and UNC and that courts had not addressed “the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context.”
Leaders at West Point, Annapolis and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs say that their admissions process is holistic and takes many factors into account, especially academic credentials and leadership potential. They also indicated at a congressional hearing in July that the Defense Department is reviewing the Supreme Court decision and assessing any potential impact.
Last fall, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, representing the Biden administration in the Harvard and UNC cases, argued to the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic diversity is crucial for military readiness. It is “a critical national security imperative to attain diversity within the officer corps,” she said at the time. “And, at present, it’s not possible to achieve that diversity without race-conscious admissions, including at the nation’s service academies.”
The Naval Academy said Thursday it does not comment on pending litigation.
