Civil rights groups challenge Harvard University’s “legacy” admissions after Supreme Court ruling against race-based considerations in college admissions.
On Monday (July 3), Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed a federal civil rights complaint against Harvard for granting “special preference in its admissions process to hundreds of mostly white students – not because of anything they have accomplished, but rather solely because of who their relatives are.”
Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights said, “There’s no birthright to Harvard. As the Supreme Court recently noted, ‘eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’ There should be no way to identify who your parents are in the college application process.”
He continued, “Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations? 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.”
On Thursday (June 29), the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action, with a 6-3 vote, sparking concerns over Harvard’s “legacy” admissions favoring white applicants, who are significantly more likely to be admitted compared to non-legacy applicants.
Harvard’s own data reveals that nearly 70% of legacy and donor-related applicants are white, and among white students admitted, over 43% have privileged affiliations such as athletes, legacies, and connections to faculty and staff.
It goes on to state that these preferences are “conferred without regard to the applicant’s credentials or merits” and “systematically disadvantage students of color.”
The main objective is to prompt the US Department of Education to launch a federal investigation into Harvard’s application process and advocate for the federal government to declare “legacy” admissions as illegal.
In a statement, Michael Kippins, litigation fellow at Lawyers for Civil Rights, expressed: “Harvard’s practice of giving a leg-up to the children of wealthy donors and alumni – who have done nothing to deserve it – must end.”
Following the Supreme Court ruling, Harvard University stated its commitment to continue embracing “people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences.”
