Student Union | Photo by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
From local happenings to national topics and global events, here is the news worth knowing from the week of June 26, 2023.
Local
On Tuesday, June 27, the Dayton League of Women Voters hosted a bipartisan forum about Issue 1, which will be on the ballot in a special election on August 8.
Former Ohio Governor Bob Taft and former state legislator Michael Curtin discussed the language and implications of the amendment, which would increase the qualifications to propose a state constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60%, among other relevant increases.
National
Affirmative action ruling
On Thursday, June 29, the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action and race-based factors in college admission processes in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett joined in a concurring opinion. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined in a dissenting opinion.
“Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built or lessons learned, but the color of their skin,” the syllabus of the opinion reads.
President Biden provided remarks about the case on Thursday, emphasizing that college admissions processes do not favor unqualified individuals.
“I also believe that while talent, creativity and hard work are everywhere across this country, equal opportunity [is not]. It is not everywhere across this country,” Biden said. “We cannot let this decision be the last word. I want to emphasize: we cannot let this decision be the last word.”
Student loan debt relief decision
In another 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court—in Biden, President of the United States, et al. v. Nebraska, et al.—blocked Biden’s student loan debt relief program, stating that the program infringes current federal law.
“In sum, the Secretary’s comprehensive debt cancellation plan is not a waiver because it augments and expands existing provisions dramatically. It is not a modification because it constitutes ‘effectively the introduction of a whole new regime,’” the syllabus of the opinion reads.
Biden provided a statement about the ruling on Friday. In the statement, Biden expressed concern for students who will not receive assistance, explaining that Pell Grants and current loan forgiveness are hopeful aspects.
“My administration’s student debt relief plan would have been the lifeline tens of millions of hard working Americans needed as they try to recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic,” Biden said. “While today’s decision is disappointing, we should not lose sight of the progress we’ve made.”
Global
In a suburb of Paris, France, on Tuesday, June 27, a police officer shot and killed Nahel M., a 17-year-old delivery driver, according to an Associated Press release. In a tweet and official statement, Minister of the Interior of France Gérald Darmanin said that following the shooting and resulting social unrest, France deployed police officers to restore order.
