The Supreme Court docket of the United States declared that race can no longer be employed as a criterion for faculty admissions, ending Affirmative Action on Thursday.
Auburn alum Charles Barkley wishes to make certain that variety is still a priority for admissions at his alma mater, and as this sort of created a considerable shift amid the ruling on Friday.
After describing the ruling as “a shot throughout the bow,” Barkley stated on Friday that he will be leaving Auburn $5 million in his will, to be applied for scholarships for Black students.
“In my will, I am leaving Auburn $5 million,” he reported, for every AL.com. “I’m going to adjust it to be just for scholarships for Black students. That is just my way of attempting to make guaranteed Auburn stays various. I really like Auburn. I have in fact adjusted it to be employed for little ones from inadequate homes. But immediately after that ruling yesterday, my mobile phone was blowing up. I was talking to my good friends and said, ‘I want to make confident Black people always have a area at Auburn. So I’m gonna modify my will and make it completely for Black college students – all $5 million. It’s just for me the proper point to do. I often want to make absolutely sure that Auburn’s diverse.”
According to AL.com, Auburn’s Black pupil enrollment was at 4.91% as of 2022, down from 5.3% in 2020.
It is not the initially time, and certainly will not be the past time, that Barkley has proven like for his alma mater. But his most up-to-date go may possibly be his most sizeable nonetheless to a university that usually means so substantially to him.