Harvard University on Thursday reaffirmed its dedication to fostering a diverse campus population while acknowledging that the system will have to change in light of the Supreme Court's decision that declared race cannot be a factor in college admissions. The court's conservative majority overturned affirmative action admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest private and public colleges, respectively.Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion of the court that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”In a statement responding to the decision, Harvard leaders said they believe the institution's academic excellence is improved by the debate and differences of opinion that can come from diversity. They also wrote that the university must admit a student body that reflects "multiple facets of the human experience" in order to adequately educate future leaders."For almost a decade, Harvard has vigorously defended an admissions system that, as two federal courts ruled, fully complied with longstanding precedent. In the weeks and months ahead, drawing on the talent and expertise of our Harvard community, we will determine how to preserve, consistent with the Court’s new precedent, our essential values," university officials wrote in their statement responding to the ruling.Video: How could SCOTUS affirmative action ruling impact other parts of life?Harvard accepted its first Black student in 1847 but it wasn't until the 1970s that the university began to give credit to Black applicants and other people of color as part of the admissions process."All those small communities that bring in so much culture to the overall, a lot of those will be threatened by this decision," said David Lewis, a current Harvard junior. The decision will not affect the university's incoming class of 2027, of which approximately 15% of students are Black, nearly 30% are Asian American and about 11% identify as Latinx. A recent UMass-Amherst/WCVB national poll, which asked respondents for their opinion on affirmative action programs in colleges, found the nation divided over the issue but leaning toward an agreement with the conservative majority's decision.Previously, the Supreme Court had twice upheld race-conscious college admissions programs in the past 20 years, including as recently as 2016.But that was before the three appointees of former President Donald Trump joined the court. At arguments in late October, all six conservative justices expressed doubts about the practice, which had been upheld under Supreme Court decisions reaching back to 1978.Lower courts also upheld the programs at both UNC and Harvard, rejecting claims that the schools discriminated against white and Asian American applicants.The affirmative action cases were brought by conservative activist Edward Blum, who also was behind an earlier affirmative action challenge against the University of Texas as well as the case that led the court in 2013 to end the use of a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act.Blum formed Students for Fair Admissions, which filed lawsuits against both schools in 2014. Video below: Harvard hopeful uncertain how SCOTUS ruling will affect themSixteen-year-old Mai Abotar, who was visiting the Harvard campus on Thursday with her mother said she fears the decision could hurt her chances of getting admitted. She's originally from Palestine."It would hurt me because I would no longer be seen as more interesting to them," Abotar said. "Someone who has a less privileged background, they should mention that in the essay. And the admissions officers will probably take that into account," Harvard student Leo Lo said after the Supreme Court decision was announced. "I also feel like people won't be as very comfortable talking about socioeconomic status because it can be a touchy subject," said another Harvard student, Sutchi Ofori-Nyako.The only institutions of higher education explicitly left out of the ruling are the nation's military academies, Roberts wrote, suggesting that national security interests could affect the legal analysis.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Full statement from Harvard:Dear Members of the Harvard Community,Today, the Supreme Court delivered its decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. The Court held that Harvard College’s admissions system does not comply with the principles of the equal protection clause embodied in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Court also ruled that colleges and universities may consider in admissions decisions “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” We will certainly comply with the Court’s decision.We write today to reaffirm the fundamental principle that deep and transformative teaching, learning, and research depend upon a community comprising people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. That principle is as true and important today as it was yesterday. So too are the abiding values that have enabled us—and every great educational institution—to pursue the high calling of educating creative thinkers and bold leaders, of deepening human knowledge, and of promoting progress, justice, and human flourishing.We affirm that:Because the teaching, learning, research, and creativity that bring progress and change require debate and disagreement, diversity and difference are essential to academic excellence.To prepare leaders for a complex world, Harvard must admit and educate a student body whose members reflect, and have lived, multiple facets of human experience. No part of what makes us who we are could ever be irrelevant.Harvard must always be a place of opportunity, a place whose doors remain open to those to whom they had long been closed, a place where many will have the chance to live dreams their parents or grandparents could not have dreamed.For almost a decade, Harvard has vigorously defended an admissions system that, as two federal courts ruled, fully complied with longstanding precedent. In the weeks and months ahead, drawing on the talent and expertise of our Harvard community, we will determine how to preserve, consistent with the Court’s new precedent, our essential values.The heart of our extraordinary institution is its people. Harvard will continue to be a vibrant community whose members come from all walks of life, all over the world. To our students, faculty, staff, researchers, and alumni—past, present, and future—who call Harvard your home, please know that you are, and always will be, Harvard. Your remarkable contributions to our community and the world drive Harvard’s distinction. Nothing today has changed that.Sincerely,Lawrence S. BacowPresident, Harvard UniversityAlan M. GarberProvost, Harvard UniversityMeredith WeenickExecutive Vice President, Harvard UniversityClaudine GayDean, Faculty of Arts and SciencesPresident-elect, Harvard UniversityTomiko Brown-NaginDean, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced StudyNancy ColemanDean, Division of Continuing Education and University ExtensionGeorge Q. DaleyDean, Harvard Medical SchoolSrikant DatarDean, Harvard Business SchoolEmma DenchDean, Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and SciencesFrancis J. Doyle IIIDean, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesDouglas ElmendorfDean, Harvard Kennedy School of GovernmentWilliam V. GiannobileDean, Harvard School of Dental MedicineDavid N. HemptonDean, Harvard Divinity SchoolRakesh KhuranaDean, Harvard CollegeBridget Terry LongDean, Harvard Graduate School of EducationJohn F. ManningDean, Harvard Law SchoolSarah M. WhitingDean, Graduate School of DesignMichelle A. WilliamsDean, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health