The US Department of Justice has sued Yale for allegedly discriminating against Asian American and White applicants, reports CBS.
According to ABC, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Connecticut on Thursday.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed alleging discrimination against Asians nd Whites in admissions in the last few years, and none have been successful. The court has continually ruled that the use of race as one criteria in the admissions process is legal as long as they are used with other admissions criteria such as grades and extracurriculars.
“Yale’s race discrimination includes imposing undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including in particular most Asian, and White applicants,” the lawsuit reads.
The DOJ initially accused Yale of race-based discrimination in August following a two-year investigation of Ivy League admissions.
“All persons who apply for admission to colleges and universities should expect and know that they will be judged by their character, talents, and achievements and not the color of their skin,” Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said.
The department demanded in August that Yale stop considering race in its admissions, but the university refused and stated that the accusations were “meritless” and “hasty.”
The DOJ is now alleging that Yale’s admissions process violates Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based discrimination by programs that receive federal funding.
The complaint states that the university has violated Title VI by “subjecting domestic, non-transfer Asian and White applicants to Yale College to unlawful discrimination on the ground of race.” The complaint claims that Yale receives over $630 million in federal funding per year.
The DOJ is seeking a permanent injunction to prohibit Yale from using race as a factor in its undergraduate admissions.
Peter Salovey, the university’s president, condemned the lawsuit and maintained that Yale’s admissions policies do not discriminate against applicants based on race.
“I want to be clear: Yale does not discriminate against applicants of any race or ethnicity,” he said. “Our admissions practices are completely fair and lawful. Yale’s admissions policies will not change as a result of the filing of this baseless lawsuit. We look forward to defending these policies in court.”
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