The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has now launched a civil rights investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions, just one month after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.
On July 24, Michael A. Kippins, a representative of the DOE’s civil rights department, issued a letter to the Boston-based nonprofit that alleged Harvard discriminated against students of color by using “donor and legacy preferences in its undergraduate admissions process.”
In a complaint filed July 3, members from the Lawyers For Civil Rights claimed that legacy admissions at Harvard “discriminate” against students of color by giving white children of alumni a leg up in the undergraduate admissions process. The complaint was filed on behalf of Black and Latino community members in New England, alleging that Harvard’s admissions system violated the Civil Rights Act.
Hammering down on the allegation, the group claimed that students with legacy ties to the iconic institution were “seven times more likely to be admitted to Harvard.” They argued that around 70% of legacy students were white, and “nearly a third” of those with ties to Harvard made up a class at the institution.
“For the Class of 2019, about 28% of the class were legacies with a parent or other relative who went to Harvard,” the complaint noted. “Qualified and highly deserving applicants of color are harmed as a result, as admissions slots are given instead to the overwhelmingly white applicants who benefit from Harvard’s legacy and donor preferences.”
Furthermore, the group also argued that the unfair practice often gives “preferential treatment” to white applicants and is not based on their educational merit. “It is an unfair and unearned benefit that is conferred solely based on the family that the applicant is born into. This custom, pattern, and practice is exclusionary and discriminatory. It severely disadvantages and harms applicants of color,” the group added.
In a statement to The Associated Press, a spokesperson for Harvard said the university would be reviewing its admissions policies to ensure fairness and compliance with the law. “As this work continues, and moving forward, Harvard remains dedicated to opening doors to opportunity and to redoubling our efforts to encourage students from many different backgrounds to apply for admission,” the spokesperson added.
Members from the Lawyers For Civil Rights said the DOE’s decision was a step in the right direction.
“We are gratified that the Department of Education has acted swiftly to open this investigation,” the group said in an email statement. “Harvard should follow the lead of a growing number of colleges and universities — including Amherst, MIT, Johns Hopkins, the University of California, and most recently Wesleyan — and voluntarily abandon these unfair and undeserved preferences.”
Black X users lit up the platform shortly after the investigation was announced. Some netizens agreed with the DOE’s decision to probe Harvard. Users said standardized test scores and other educational-based merits should be strictly considered during the application process.
Some users argued that legacy admissions were comparable to affirmative action for white students. New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman promised to fight for the Fair College Admissions for Students Act, a bill that would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of higher education from participating in Federal student assistance programs and giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to legacy students or donors.
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