(U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.) — Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) due to its racial and ethnic admissions policies. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the lawsuit was filed in Colorado and claims that USAFA violates the Fifth Amendment as it allegedly uses race as a factor in its admissions process. The lawsuit states that all service academies are subject to the Fifth Amendment, which contains an equal protection principle. “Over the past few decades, the Air Force Academy and our other military academies have strayed from their former colorblind, merit-based admissions policies and now focus on race and ethnicity—factors that do not contribute to the qualifications of applicants," said Edward Blum, president of SFFA. In addition, in 2023, the Supreme Court's opinion forbade all institutions of higher education from using race in admissions decisions. According to the lawsuit, USAFA uses a holistic admissions process, similar to those used by Harvard and UNC, meaning that they consider the applicant's whole application such as their background, qualities, and skills including their essay, recommendation letters, and even an applicant's potential for success in school. The lawsuit claims that "The Academy admits that it considers applicants' race when choosing who to admit, and that it uses racial preferences to shape the racial diversity of each incoming class." "The Academy’s racial preferences are consistent with—and derivative of—the DoDand Department of the Air Force’s broader fixation on the color of the young men and women who comprise the pool of future military officers," the lawsuit states. According to the lawsuit, USAFA allegedly does and can consider race as a "plus factor" for candidates who are racial minorities. "Taken together, the Academy’s comprehensive racial preferences make race determinative for hundreds of candidates each year. And because race is a “positive” factor for some candidates, it is necessarily a “negative” factor for others," the lawsuit read. USAFA said it does not comment on pending litigation.