One of the most prestigious American universities is now facing a legal battle against Asian-American applicants.
The Students for Fair Admissions accused Harvard University of lowering the rankings of Asian-Americans.
Racial balancing, the practice that Harvard University uses, formulates acceptance percentages which include applicants’ ethnic backgrounds.
Harvard has stated that their admission process is indeed legal. They also stated their university “does not discriminate against applicants from any group, including Asian-Americans, whose rate of admission has grown 29 percent over the last decade.”
However, Edward Blum, a conservative legal strategist, commented, “We allege that Harvard has a hard, fast quota limiting the number of Asians it will admit. In addition to that, Harvard has a racial balancing policy that balances the percentages of African-Americans, Hispanics, whites, and Asians.”
Blum also serves as the president of Students for Fair Admissions. Along with his organization, Blum will bring the university to court and sue the institution regarding their racial bias.
Harvard believes that the organization will not be able to represent themselves adequately. They stated that “SFFA is not a true membership organization that can sue on behalf of its members; it is a litigation vehicle designed to further the ideological objectives [of its founder]”
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO INVESTIGATE THE HARVARD CASE.
The U.S Justice Department wants to investigate this issue further. They want to confirm that the university is following the standards from the 1964 Civil Rights Act which “[outlaws] discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, [requires] equal access to public places and employment, and [enforces] desegregation of schools and the right to vote.”
The case against Harvard was first presented in 2014 but was dismissed by the Obama administration.
The Trump administration has shown interest in the lawsuit and will explore the case in further depth.
Throughout history, universities have been proven to be guilty of racial bias against many racial and ethnic groups, often African Americans. This case shouldn’t be any different. If Asian-Americans meet the criteria for Harvard’s application process and display a stronger resume than other applicants, then they deserve to attend the university.
Featured Image via Flickr/Tim Sackton
