Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a federal lawsuit against Yale University on Thursday, alleging that university discriminates against Asian-American and white applicants, New Haven Register reports.
The lawsuit claims that Yale “improperly uses race” when making admissions decisions to ensure a racially diverse student body.
“Students applying to undergraduate and post-graduate programs should be judged on their individual talents, character, academic skills, extra-curricular achievements and socio-economic background but not the color of their skin,” Edward Blum, president of SFFA, told New Haven Register.
Blum and SFFA have brought similar lawsuits against universities they believe engage in discriminatory affirmative action practices. Those universities include: Harvard University, the University of Texas and the University of North Carolina.
In 2014, the SFFA sued Harvard under a similar premise to the most recent Yale lawsuit. They claimed that the application process illegally discriminated against Asian Americans, according to The New York Times. They lost the lawsuit in October 2019 and an appeal attempt in November 2020.
SFFA’s lawsuit is also similar to one the US Department of Justice recently brought against Yale. Under the Trump administration, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Yale claiming that their applications process illegally discriminates against Asian American applicants.
The Justice Department, now being managed by a Biden administration, dropped the lawsuit earlier this month, according to NPR. SFFA is taking matters into their own hands.
Yale says its admissions practices consider the “whole person” and complies with years of Supreme Court precedent, according to New Haven Register.
“Yale remains fully committed to assembling an excellent and diverse student body,” the school said in a statement.
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