An August 30 NBC News segment—featuring former John Lewis Young Leaders fellow and Cornell University student Jonathan Lam—highlighted states’ recent moves to prohibit legacy admissions. Last year, shockwaves were sent through college campuses when the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in admissions decisions. After the Supreme Court’s decision, Lam, along with Cornell’s ACLU chapter, started lobbying New York lawmakers to take aim at legacy admissions, a practice they believe is even more perverse. “If the Supreme Court is arguing that no student should receive any preference because of their race in the admissions process, then no one should be receiving an admissions consideration simply because their mom and their dad attended that school,” said Lam. Roughly 30% of institutions nationwide consider legacy status, according to advocacy group Education Reform Now. While states like Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland have prohibited the practice, others, like California, are still working towards an official ban, as is New York state, where over 40% of institutions consider legacy status.