CAMBRIDGE, MA — The U.S. Justice Department supported students who are suing Harvard over alleged discrimination against Asian-American applicants. The lawsuit, which claims qualified Asian-American applicants are passed over by admissions in order to have less-qualified students of other races, is seen as having potentially far-reaching impact on affirmative action in colleges.
The lawsuit was brought by a group called Students for Fair Admissions. The plaintiffs claim the admissions office has a purposeful pattern of rating Asian-American applicants lower than any other race on personal traits that might boost their chances.
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The Justice Department said there is evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ claims, saying the process “may be infected with racial bias.” The Justice Department also said the court should deny Harvard’s request to dismiss the case before a trial.
“No American should be denied admission to school because of their race,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “As a recipient of taxpayer dollars, Harvard has a responsibility to conduct its admissions policy without racial discrimination by using meaningful admissions criteria that meet lawful requirements.”
>>>Read: Is Harvard Admissions Discriminating Against Asian-Americans?
Harvard’s class of 2021 is 50.9 percent minority, according to the admissions website, which notes 22.2 percent are Asian-American 14.6 percent are African-American, 11.6 percent Hispanic and 2.5 percent Native-American or Pacific Islander.
In its admissions process, according to the court documents, Harvard ranks applicants in five categories — “academic,” “extracurricular,” “athletic,” “personal” and “overall” from 1 to 6, with 1 being the best.
Some 21.3 percent of white applicants gave a 1 or 2 compared to 17.6 percent of Asian-Americans when it came to personal ranking, according to the analysis of Students for Fair Admissions.
Alumni interviewers have given Asian-Americans personal ratings similar to those of whites. But the admissions office appears to have given them the worst scores of any racial group, often without even meeting them, the New York Times reported.
Jenna Fisher, Patch, contributed to this report
Photo credit: Freshman Chris Chen works on his notebook computer on the campus of Harvard University September 12, 2006. (Photo by Glen Cooper/Getty Images)