![]() ![]() NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. (SOUNDBITE OF THE BAD PLUS JOSHUA REDMAN'S "AS THIS MOMENT SLIPS AWAY")Ĭopyright © 2018 NPR. HARTOCOLLIS: First of all, Harvard strenuously denies any discrimination and says that its admissions system is a carefully calibrated way of curating an ideal class that will help shape the future of a pluralistic society in America.ĬHANG: Anemona Hartocollis covers higher education for The New York Times. And the charge here is that Asians are being treated differently because of their race from everybody else.ĬHANG: And what is Harvard's best argument to that? The Supreme Court has ruled that universities have a large degree of discretion in deciding whom to admit but that they cannot treat different groups in a disparate way. I think Harvard probably has a large degree of discretion. HARTOCOLLIS: I think it comes down to whether Harvard is misusing its criteria. ![]() I guess - does this fight come down to whether Harvard is using the correct criteria? They - it does need to have other criteria to select students. There are way more than 2,000 applicants year after year who have perfect SAT scores and straight A's. And if you look at the academic records of the students applying, it's pretty overwhelming. And those would include racial and ethnic minorities and kids whose parents graduated from Harvard and recruited athletes among others.ĬHANG: Though at the end of the day, Harvard admits some around 2,000 students per year. And it is given to certain categories of applicants according to the plaintiffs. HARTOCOLLIS: A tip, as I discovered through a document in the files - a Department of Education investigation in the late '80s - is a preference. I think that that's what the plaintiffs want to find out.ĬHANG: There was this other phrase that came up, and that was tipping or to tip. HARTOCOLLIS: Well, that's a good question. And one of the things that has stood out for me is something that Harvard calls lopping, which according to the court papers takes place at the end of the admissions process when the admissions office looks at the racial balance of the class and adjusts it.ĬHANG: So race is the determinative factor for who gets lopped from the list at the very end? ![]() I and two of my colleagues have read hundreds of documents. What struck you as particularly damning for the university's case? Was there anything? Welcome.ĬHANG: So you've been poring through all of these documents produced by Harvard University about its admissions process. The lawsuit could have important implications for affirmative action.Īnd joining us now to discuss what we're learning from these new documents is Anemona Hartocollis from The New York Times. The court papers shed light on how the university considers an applicant's socioeconomic status, race or personality to give preference on who gets in. A federal court has unsealed hundreds of admissions applications and documents in recent weeks as part of a lawsuit alleging the university discriminates against Asian-American applicants. A treasure trove of documents about Harvard University's admission process is revealing secrets about how America's oldest university selects its students.
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