Cursory: A civil rights group has filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, claiming that legacy admissions discriminate against students of color and violate the Civil Rights Act. Critics argue that legacy admissions perpetuate privilege and should be abolished, especially without affirmative action. The lawsuit aims to make the practice illegal and demands Harvard to cease it, stating that legacy preferences hinder diversity and limit opportunities for qualified students of color.
Harvard University is facing a legal challenge from a civil rights group over its legacy admissions policy, which the group claims discriminates against students of color by providing an unfair advantage to predominantly white children of alumni.
This challenge is part of a broader movement opposing legacy admissions, where admission priority is given to the children of alumni. The recent Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action in college admissions has fueled the backlash against legacy admissions.
Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit organization in Boston, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England, alleging that Harvard’s admissions system violates the Civil Rights Act.
“Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations?” said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, the group’s executive director.
“Your family’s last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit, and should have no bearing on the college admissions process.”
Critics argue that legacy admissions cannot be justified without affirmative action to balance the scales. Activists highlight that while the court ruling requires colleges to disregard an applicant’s race, they can still grant preferential treatment to children of alumni and donors.
In a separate effort, a campaign led by Ed Mobilizer is encouraging alumni from 30 esteemed colleges, including Harvard and other Ivy League schools, to withhold donations until legacy admissions are abolished.
President Joe Biden suggested last week that universities should rethink the practice, saying legacy admissions “expand privilege instead of opportunity.”
Following the court’s decision, several Democrats in Congress, as well as Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, have called for an end to the legacy admissions policy.
The recently filed lawsuit against Harvard University cites data that surfaced during the affirmative action case brought before the Supreme Court. The data revealed that 70% of Harvard’s legacy and donor-related applicants are white, and being a legacy student increases an applicant’s chances of admission by approximately six times.
The lawsuit also highlights other universities, such as Amherst College and Johns Hopkins University, that have discontinued the practice due to concerns about its fairness. It alleges that Harvard’s legacy preference disregards merit and deprives qualified students of color of admission opportunities.
The lawsuit urges the U.S. Department of Education to declare the practice unlawful and compel Harvard to abandon it as long as the institution receives federal funding.
Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.“A spot given to a legacy or donor-related applicant is a spot that becomes unavailable to an applicant who meets the admissions criteria based purely on his or her own merit,” according to the complaint.
If legacy and donor preferences were removed, it adds, “more students of color would be admitted to Harvard.”
The suit was filed on behalf of Chica Project, African Community Economic Development of New England, and the Greater Boston Latino Network.It’s unclear exactly which schools provide a legacy boost and how much it helps. In California, where state law requires schools to disclose the practice, the University of Southern California reported that 14% of last year’s admitted students had family ties to alumni or donors. Stanford reported a similar rate.
A recent survey by the Associated Press revealed that legacy students make up a varying percentage of the freshman class in the nation’s most selective colleges, ranging from 4% to 23%.
At specific institutions such as Notre Dame, USC, Cornell, and Dartmouth, the number of legacy students exceeded the number of Black students. Advocates of legacy admissions argue that it fosters a sense of community among alumni and encourages financial contributions.
However, a study conducted at an undisclosed college in the Northeast in 2022 found that while legacy students were more likely to donate, this preference came at the expense of diversity, with a majority of legacy students being white.
It is important to note that the Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the AP takes full responsibility for the published content.
Source: Fortune
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