The US Department of Justice has notified Yale University that they are in violation of the law, saying Yale’s admissions process discriminates against white and Asian students. In this letter, the DOJ attorney Eric Dreiband cites a two year investigation and says:
“the likelihood of admission for Asian American and White applicants who have similar academic credentials is significantly lower than for African American and Hispanic applicants to Yale College.”
In response, Yale University president Peter Salovey says that the accusations are baseless.
When I saw that headline, I wondered if Students for Fair Admissions was involved. This organization has filed lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Harvard won the lawsuit, but Students for Fair Admissions has appealed. The DOJ filed this amicus brief to support them in their appeal.
The DOJ also has taken some other actions against people associated with Yale. Yale women’s soccer coach Rudy Meredith pleaded guilty of taking bribes to recruit non-athletes to his team, as part of the “Varsity Blues” college admissions admission scandal. You can keep track of the fate of the defendants, including some Asian American parents, in this table provided by the DOJ.
These are interesting times in college admissions. Many colleges and universities, including the Ivies, will not be requiring standardized tests because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, I have heard that in some high schools have been lax about grading during this time (somewhat understandably), as have many universities, including the one that Number One Son and Number Two son attend. In addition, with the killing of George Floyd, there are calls for more African American students in elite public and private universities.
The Department of Justice has given Yale until August 27, 2020 to agree to comply with their request.
(Image by David Mark from Pixabay)
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