The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday that struck down college affirmative action programs. The Court issued rulings in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, twin cases that sought the prohibition of limited consideration of an applicant’s race or ethnic background in the higher education admissions process. In the decision, the court ruled that both programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The Court effectively overturned previous rulings in 1978 and 2003 that upheld a