Once again, the U.S. Supreme Court has brushed aside its own precedents to achieve a long-sought conservative goal — banning race-conscious college admissions. Unlike last year’s inflammatory decision overturning abortion rights, however, this ruling is likely to be popular.

Americans have been leery of race, ethnic and gender preferences since the Nixon administration first introduced them in 1969. According to a recent YouGov poll, two-thirds of the public say colleges shouldn’t factor race into their admissions decisions. Majorities of whites, Hispanics and women take that view, as does a plurality of Blacks, Democrats and liberals.