This has been called Affirmative Action for the Rich: Harvard University‘s special admissions treatment for students whose parents are alumni, or whose relatives have donated money. And in a complaint filed Monday, a legal activist group demanded that the federal government end it, arguing that fairness was even more urgent after the Supreme Court last week severely limited race-conscious admissions. .
Three Boston-area groups urged the Department of Education to review the practice, saying admissions policies discriminated against black, Hispanic and Asian applicants, favoring less qualified white candidates with alumni and donor connections.
Why are we rewarding children for the privileges and advantages earned by prior generations?” asked Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, which is handling the case. “Your family’s last name and the size of your bank account qualify.
The complaint from liberal groups comes days after a conservative group, Students for Fair Admissions, won a Supreme Court case. is mounting pressure on colleges to eliminate special preferences for children from the U.S. The Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office, which will review the complaint, may already be gearing up to investigate.
A statement following the Supreme Court’s decision In 2016, President Joe Biden said he would ask the department to “investigate practices such as legacy admissions and other systems that expand privilege rather than opportunity.” A Harvard spokesman reiterated a statement from last week: ” As we said, in the weeks and months ahead, the university will determine how best to preserve our essential values, in line with the court’s new precedent.”
The colleges argue that this practice helps build community and that charity which can be used for financial assistance. A Pew Research Center poll last year found that a growing share of the public – 75% – believed legacy preferences should not be a factor.
Peter Arcadiacono, an economist who analyzed Harvard data, found that a typical white heritage applicant’s chances of being admitted increase fivefold compared to a typical, white non-heritage applicant. Still, the study notes that eliminating heritage preferences will not compensate for the loss in diversity if breed-conscious admixture is also eliminated.
Be First to Comment