Will West Point Have To Operate by Harvard Rules?
As Congress prepares to raise an army for the next generation of soldiers, will West Point be able to pursue the diversity it has sought in recent decades?
One of our favorite facts about West Point is that the first class it ever graduated — which was in 1802 — was 50 percent Jewish. That detail is often met with incredulity, but there it is. There were but two cadets in the class, and one of them, Simon Levy, a whiz in mathematics, was Jewish. Then again, too, the bottom half of the class was the Jewish one. The top half, Joseph Gardner Swift, was the better cadet overall and graduated first. No complaints.
We mention that as a footnote to the debate that is about to erupt over admissions to West Point. This is precipitated by the decision of the Supreme Court last week to permit West Point to continue considering race in its admission process — at least until the court addresses the merits of a lawsuit against West Point by the same plaintiff, Students for Fair Admissions, that won against Harvard a finding that considering race in admissions is unconstitutional.
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