NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - An organization that alleges Yale University discriminates against Asian-American and white applicants filed a federal lawsuit against the school on Thursday.
The complaint filed by Students for Fair Admissions alleges Yale improperly uses race as a determining factor when deciding who to admit in an effort to ensure a racially balanced student body.
It mirrors a lawsuit that was withdrawn earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“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, said.
The group has filed similar complaints against Harvard University, the University of Texas and the University of North Carolina.
It comes t he same day the organization asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a November federal appeals court ruling, which found Harvard’s policy was in line with Supreme Court precedents.
Yale said its practices also comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent and that it looks at “the whole person” when deciding which applicants to admit. It said the lawsuit “resurrects the misleading statistics, factual errors, and legal misstatements that the Trump administration included in its suit.”
“Yale remains fully committed to assembling an excellent and diverse student body,” the school said in a statement.
The Supreme Court has ruled colleges and universities may consider race in admissions decisions but has said that must be done in a narrowly tailored way to promote diversity and should be limited in time. Schools also bear the burden of showing why their consideration of race is appropriate.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.