Back in October, Harvard University claimed victory in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University case in which Harvard’s undergraduate admissions process was declared constitutional in spite of allegations the school discriminates against Asian American applicants. It was a landmark legal decision issued by Judge Allison Burroughs, but — of course — Judge Burroughs’ decision would not be the end of the matter. The decision was appealed in February, a time that seems like eons ago in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. So what’s happening with the appeal? Wonder no more!

It seems that Harvard’s backers are rallying behind the legality of the school’s admissions process. As Benjamin L. Fu and Dohyun Kim write for The Harvard Crimson in a piece entitled “Attorneys General, Major Companies Back Harvard Admissions Process on Appeal,” “Massachusetts Attorney General Maura T. Healey ’92, alongside attorneys general from 14 other states and the District of Columbia, filed a brief in a federal appeals court Thursday in support of Harvard University’s race-conscious admissions process…The First Circuit Court of Appeals is currently hearing the case, following an October 2019 district court ruling finding that the admissions process does not intentionally discriminate. Healy and her colleagues wrote that the appeals court should rule in Harvard’s favor, arguing that race-conscious admissions policies are critical to providing students with higher education that includes ‘diversity of all kinds amongst their peers—including racial diversity.'”

And to those folks wondering when this case, which has been in the headlines for years at this point, could be headed to our nation’s highest court, once a ruling is issued in this appeal, the next escalation would be to the Supreme Court of the United States. So stay tuned!