Appeals court: Harvard's admission policy does not discriminate against Asian Americans

This photo of Harvard was taken before the coronavirus pandemic.

Harvard University did not discriminate against Asian American applicants in its admission process an appeals court ruled Thursday (Nov. 12), setting up a likely showdown at the Republican-packed U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision by the First Circuit Appeals Court  agreed with a district court ruling made that Harvard's use of race in admissions was legal. In September, U.S. District Judge Allison Burrough rejected allegations by some Asian American students who claimed the school systematically discriminated against them with its admissions policy, which considers factors beyond test scores to decide who gets accepted at the prestigious school

"The issue before us is whether Harvard's limited use of race in its admissions process in order to achieve diversity in the period in question is consistent with the requirements of Supreme Court precedent," Appeals Court Judge Sandra Lynch in the ruling. "There was no error."

"Today's decision once again finds that Harvard's admissions policies are consistent with Supreme Court precedent, and lawfully and appropriately pursue Harvard's efforts to create a diverse campus that promotes learning and encourages mutual respect and understanding in our community," said Harvard spokeswoman Rachael Dane . "As we have said time and time again, now is not the time to turn back the clock on diversity and opportunity."

The lawsuit against Harvard was raised by Students for Fair Admission. The group said it will probably appeal to SCOTUS. It will be the first affirmative action case for the new conservative-dominated court and newly installed activist Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

"While we are disappointed with the opinion of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, our hopeis not lost," Edward Blum, the anti-affirmative action advocate who leads SFFA said. "This lawsuit is now on track to go up to the U.S. Supreme Court where we will ask the justices to end these unfair and unconstitutional race-based admissions policies at Harvard and all colleges and universities."

SFFA's cause was hurt in the lower courts because none of the Asian Amerian applicants supposedly harmed by Harvard's admission policy did not want to testify in court. Harvard, in contrast, produced students of various ethnicities who spoke about the benefits of having a diverse student body.

More than 40,000 students applied to Harvard's undergraduate college this fall, and fewer than 5% were offered admission. Of those admitted, Harvard said 24.5% identified as Asian American, 14.8% as African American or Black, 12.7% as Latinx and 1.8% as Native American.

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