Something alarming is happening behind the scenes of college admissions — and it could have devastating consequences for Black and brown students nationwide.

Columbia and Brown universities have agreed to hand over detailed data about applicants, including their race, GPAs, and test scores, as part of settlements with the Trump administration. This isn’t just a paperwork request — it’s a deliberate effort to intimidate colleges into backing away from even legal forms of supporting racial equity.

The administration is already using this data to claim that asking students about their life experiences, where they live, or whether they’re the first in their family to attend college is just “disguised” affirmative action — and therefore illegal. Even scholarship programs aimed at underserved areas or first-generation students are now being called into question.

According to newly released enrollment numbers, Black student enrollment at Columbia fell from 20% to 12% in just one year. At Brown, Black and Hispanic student numbers dropped while white and Asian enrollment rose. This is not a coincidence — it’s a consequence of enforcing admissions systems that rely more heavily on standardized tests, which decades of research show disadvantage students of color and low-income communities.

This is not about fairness — it’s about erasing progress. When a test score is treated as the only sign of “merit,” we ignore the structural barriers that have kept talented students of color from equal access to education for generations.

We cannot let legal intimidation roll back racial equity in higher education.

Sign this petition to demand that:

• Columbia, Brown, and all universities publicly commit to maintaining race-neutral strategies that support diverse, inclusive student bodies.
• The U.S. Department of Education stop weaponizing data to suppress Black and brown student enrollment under the false banner of “colorblind” merit.

This is about more than numbers — it’s about whose stories, struggles, and dreams get to be part of our nation's future.