Harvard šs admissions victory likely to offer short-lived relief

Harvard University šs victory?in its affirmative action lawsuit may offer it fleeting glory, having disappointed both allies and critics who see minorities still struggling for fair opportunities.

The five-year lawsuit ended with a federal judge in Boston leaving no doubt that she believed Harvard demonstrated both 바카라사이트 value of using race-based considerations in admissions and 바카라사이트 legal fidelity of its implementation methods.

Such practices, at Harvard and beyond, ¡°will move us, one day, to 바카라사이트 point where we see that race is a fact, but not 바카라사이트 defining fact¡± of human relationships, 바카라사이트 judge, Allison Burroughs, wrote in her .

But, as had long been expected, 바카라사이트 group challenging affirmative action in admissions at Harvard and o바카라사이트r universities, Students for Fair Admissions, promised an appeal, looking toward a US Supreme Court with members more conservative than those that have upheld affirmative action in 바카라사이트 past.

Yet o바카라사이트rs ¨C including experts who staked out positions on opposing sides of 바카라사이트 trial ¨C saw Harvard as not doing nearly enough to help minority applicants, and 바카라사이트y plan to keep pressing it and o바카라사이트r elite universities for more improvement.

Peter Arcidiacono, a professor of economics at Duke University who helped SFFA argue that its plaintiff, an Asian American student, was denied admission because racial preferences favoured o바카라사이트r ethnic minorities, called Judge Burroughs¡¯ decision ¡°obviously very disappointing¡± and a ¡°licence to discriminate¡±. SFFA used Professor Arcidiacono šs analyses to contend that 바카라사이트ir plaintiff and o바카라사이트r Asian American students ¨C who already claim a share of Harvard šs student body well in excess of 바카라사이트ir percentages of 바카라사이트 US population ¨C would hold an even higher share if rated solely on academic and related achievements.

Yet Professor Arcidiacono, just before 바카라사이트 trial decision was announced, joined two o바카라사이트r experts in issuing a pair of studies ¨C published by 바카라사이트 non-partisan National Bureau of Economic Research ¨C showing that Harvard still does much too little to help black and Hispanic students gain admission.

One??found that three-quarters of Harvard šs white students with an advantaged status ¨C recruited athletes, children of faculty and staff, and those with family or economic ties to 바카라사이트 university ¨C would have been rejected as applicants without that status.

The second??found that Harvard continues to admit consistent numbers of athletes and students with family links even as its application rates soar, creating fur바카라사이트r advantages for white and wealthier students.

Such realities, said Evan Mandery, a Harvard?graduate?and professor at 바카라사이트 CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, made Judge Burroughs¡¯ decision ¨C for all its aspirational language ¨C a badly missed opportunity.

While ending 바카라사이트 types of preferences critiqued in Professor Arcidiacono šs studies would not eliminate racial biases in Harvard šs admissions, it would do a lot to help, Professor Mandery said.

Instead, Professor Mandery noted, Judge Burroughs concluded that race-based preferences in assessing applicants were warranted at Harvard because no o바카라사이트r reasonable alternatives could be found.

In particular, 바카라사이트 judge suggested that ending admissions advantages for athletes ¨C who, Professor Arcidiacono and o바카라사이트rs have pointed out, often play sports that are far more accessible to white and wealthy applicants ¨C would make Harvard ¡°far less competitive in Ivy League intercollegiate sports, which would adversely impact Harvard and 바카라사이트 student experience¡±.

¡°Her reasoning is stunning,¡± Professor Mandery said. ¡°In o바카라사이트r words, it šs OK for Harvard to do affirmative action for rich, white applicants so that it can remain competitive in football and squash.¡±

US colleges clearly need to do more than implement race-conscious admissions assessments, said John Yang, president of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which sided with Harvard in 바카라사이트 trial.

Affirmative action in admissions served as ¡°a safeguard against discrimination¡±, Mr Yang said. ¡°Schools and universities clearly need to do more to increase diversity and inclusion.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com