Yale is being sued by the US Justice Department over allegations the university discriminated against prospective Asian-American and white students during the admissions process.
The lawsuit alleges Yale “discriminates based on race and national origin in its undergraduate admissions process, and that race is the determinative factor in hundreds of admissions decisions each year.”
The suit, filed in a Connecticut federal court, comes about two months after the Justice Department publicly accused Yale of discrimination, based on a two-year investigation of the school’s admission practices sparked by a complaint from Asian-American groups.
According to the probe, Asian-American and white applicants have only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission as African-Americans applicants with comparable resumes.
Yale once again publicly denied the allegations. A statement from the university president said the lawsuit was “baseless” and Yale will not change its admissions practices as a result of the suit.
“As our country grapples with urgent questions about race and social justice, I have never been more certain that Yale’s approach to undergraduate admissions helps us to fulfill our mission to improve the world today and for future generations,” president Peter Salovey wrote.
The Supreme Court has allowed colleges that receive federal funding to consider race in limited circumstances when selecting students. However, the Justice Department said Yale’s practices are “anything but limited.”
The Justice Department in August demanded Yale agree not to use race in its admissions or submit a proposal to narrowly consider race to the government.
Discussion about this post