On Monday, a legal activist group began a case against Harvard University to abolish special admissions treatment for applicants whose parents are alumni or whose relatives contributed money to the institution.
According to the group, this approach was an affirmative action for the wealthy, and its repeal was more required for fairness in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s verdict, severely reducing race-conscious admissions.
The New York Times reported that the three Boston-area organisations asked the Education Department to look into the practice, alleging that the college’s admissions practices discriminated against Black, Hispanic, and Asian students in favour of less qualified whites with ties and access to alumni and funders.
Lawyers for Civil Rights said the adjustment is needed to ensure that merit remains the key factor for admissions.
“Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations?” stated its executive director Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal.
Mr Espinoza-Madrigal added, “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.”
The complaint from leftist groups came a few days after Students for Fair Admissions, a conservative group, won its appeal in the Supreme Court, adding to the increasing pressure on Harvard and other prestigious universities to end special treatment for their descendants of alumni and donors.
