Harvard faces discrimination law suit
Harvard University discriminates against Asian-American applicants in order to illegally limit how many it admits, a lawyer for a group suing the school said yesterday at the start of a closely watched trial.
The non-jury trial before US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston pits the Ivy League school against Students For Fair Admissions, whose 2014 lawsuit challenges the use of race as a factor in college admissions decisions.
SFFA, which is headed by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, claims that Harvard illegally engages in “racial balancing” that artificially limits the number of Asian-American students at the elite school.
Even statistics showed Asian-Americans applicants outperformed other racial groups on academic measures, yet that was not necessarily borne out on Harvard’s campus, Adam Mortara, a lawyer for SFFA, said in his opening statement.
Harvard pushes down the scores Asian-Americans receive on “personal” rating that measures an applicant’s subjective likability, grit and positivity and improperly allows race to play a factor in those scores, Mortara said.
“There’s no other possible explanation,” he said.
Harvard denies discriminating against Asian-Americans, saying their rates of admission have grown significantly since 2010.
The lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, could eventually reach the Supreme Court, giving the newly cemented five-member conservative majority a chance to bar the use of affirmative action.
Conservatives argue that affirmative action hurts white people and Asian-Americans, who outperform other minorities on academic measures.
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