A recent civil rights ruling in favor of Princeton does not clear Harvard from similar charges that it discriminates against Asian Americans in admissions, according to legal experts the Harvard Crimson interviewed.
Harvard was sued by the anti-affirmative action group Project on Fair Representation last November. The lawsuit accused the university of holding Asian Americans to a higher standard than others.
A week ago the U.S. Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education ruled Princeton’s admissions criteria is within the strict criteria established by the U.S. Supreme Court on the use of race and national origin.
While the Harvard and Princeton cases are similar, the later may not set a precedent. The more significant case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. A White woman sued saying she was denied admission into Austin because of her race.
“In the Princeton case, they’re using race as a factor in admissions because it is still legal to do so,” said Parke P. Muth, a former associate dean of admissions at the University of Virginia.. “If the Supreme Court rules differently, that would change the dynamics of these kinds of cases.”
You can read what the people behind the Harvard lawsuit think about all this and from those who think the Princeton case does clear Harvard in the Harvard Crimson.
