Harvard Does Not Discriminate Against Asian Americans, Judge Rules
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Boston ruled Tuesday that while “not perfect” Harvard University’s admissions process does not discriminate against Asian Americans.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs’ ruling comes in a 2014 lawsuit filed by the group Students for Fair Admissions, which accused the Ivy League school of bias against Asian-American applicants, saying it holds them to a higher standard than students of other races.
The plaintiffs claimed the alleged policy amounted to an “Asian penalty,” while black and Hispanic students were more readily admitted, even with poorer grades.
At the heart of the dispute was an internal report prepared at Harvard in 2013 that looked at the role race played in the university’s admissions. It found that if the school weighed applicants based on academics alone, 43% of the admitted class would be Asian American, while in reality, it was 19%.
Harvard denied any discrimination and said it considers race only as one of many factors when considering applicants.
The lawsuit has been closely watched ever since as the outcome has implications for scores of other U.S. colleges that say they consider race to admit a diverse mix of students.
Judge Burroughs said she found “no evidence of any racial animus whatsoever” in Harvard’s admissions policy.
The group has also sued the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, over alleged discrimination against Asian American applicants. That suit, also filed in 2014, is ongoing.
The group has already said it will appeal Burroughs’ decision.
“Students for Fair Admissions is disappointed that the court has upheld Harvard’s discriminatory admissions policies,” Edward Blum, the group’s president, said in a statement. “We believe that the documents, emails, data analysis and depositions SFFA presented at trial compellingly revealed Harvard’s systematic discrimination against Asian-American applicants.”
Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In The News
Health
Voting
Education
WASHINGTON — COVID has taken a toll on student learning and wellbeing, but a coalition of community schools advocates believes they have the answer to correcting academic learning loss and supporting the holistic development of young people. They say their next-generation community schooling lays the foundation... Read More
ATLANTA (AP) — With her children struggling in many classes last spring, Kelli Rivera became so frustrated with how her suburban Atlanta district was handling the coronavirus pandemic that she withdrew them to home-school them. They're back in public school and mostly attending class in person.... Read More
NEW YORK - The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America kicked off veteran education week this morning, continuing a six-week campaign to highlight the priority issues of its members. Over the course of this week, IAVA is highlighting its advocacy efforts to expand and protect veteran... Read More
WASHINGTON — Attitudes toward American colleges and universities may have started evolving before the pandemic set in, but COVID-19 truly upended the higher ed system in ways that are sure to have an impact for years to come. Through a series of mid-pandemic public opinion research... Read More
MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Joe Biden is promising a majority of elementary schools will be open five days a week by the end of his first 100 days in office, restating his goal after his administration came under fire when aides said schools would be considered... Read More
ATLANTA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released its long-awaited guidance on safely reopening schools, emphasizing that it is"critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible." The top recommendations are what one would expect - the universal wearing... Read More
