Several Bay Area students are disappointed over a ruling to maintain affirmative action.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning upheld Michigan's ban on using race as a factor in college admissions.
In a 6-2 ruling, the justices said the state did not violate the U.S. Constitution when its voters banned affirmative action. The justices said that a lower federal court was wrong to set aside the change as discriminatory.
California has a similar ban when it comes to admitting students to public universities. Proposition 209 amended California's State Constitution banning public universities from using open affirmative action policies to increase the number of students of color.
A group of Bay Area students said on Tuesday they would fight to restore affirmative action.
"The Supreme Court decision is a racist decision," said Yvette Felarca, an organizer with the group By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN.
The student group on Tuesday held a rally at the UC Berkeley campus to denounce the Supreme Court decision.
"It gives a green light to states to discriminate against and impose a cap on the admissions on Latino, black, Native American and other under-represented minority students," said Ronald Cruz, an attorney with BAMN.
UC Berkeley student Gabby Edwards said she feels the effect of the affirmative action ban on campus.
"It's really an isolating feeling being here, being the only black student in our class," Edwards said. "It's isolating and detrimental to your college experience."
Harmeet Dhillon, a spokesperson for the California Republican, supports Tuesday's Supreme Court decision.
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Dhillon said that admission quotas based on race creates an advantage for one group and a disadvantage for another group.
"Those other groups are not just white people," Dhillon said. "They are minorities as well."
NBC News contributed to this report.
