It’s almost like we never needed Affirmative Action in the first place.
The Cornell Daily Sun reports:
Hispanic, Black First-Year Enrollment Increases in Second Year Post-Affirmative ActionIn the second year post-affirmative action, enrollment of Hispanic and Black first-year students increased from the Class of 2028 to the Class of 2029. Enrollment for white and Asian first-year students decreased.There are 3,827 students enrolled in the Class of 2029, marking the largest class in Cornell’s history and an 8.6 percent increase from the Class of 2028, which saw 3,525 first-years enrolled in Fall 2024.Cornell’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning lists enrollment data categorized by race and ethnicity in five main groups: Asian or Asian-White (U.S.); Black, Hispanic, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and/or American Indian (U.S.); White (U.S.); Unknown (U.S.) and International. Data can be disaggregated by clicking a separate button on the site.The percentage of first-year undergraduate students enrolled within the BHI category increased from 15.7 percent in Fall 2024 to 18 percent in Fall 2025.While BHI enrollment increased from the Class of 2028 to the Class of 2029, the proportions remain significantly lower than in previous years when affirmative action was utilized in the admissions process. 25.4 percent of students were classified as BHI in the Class of 2027 and 26.8 percent of students were classified as BHI in the Class of 2026 — the last two admissions cycles before the ban.Broken down further, enrolled students who identified as Black increased from 4.3 percent to 4.8 percent from the Class of 2028 to the Class of 2029. Notably, students identifying with two or more races/ethnicities, including Black and/or Indigenous, are counted separately and not reflected in the specific Black student enrollment total. This category also saw a slight increase from the Class of 2028 to the Class of 2029.
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