Asian groups file federal complaint against Harvard for racial bias

AN alliance of Asian American groups filed a federal complaint on Friday, May 15 against Harvard University, claiming that the school and other Ivy League institutions are using racial quotas to admit students other than high-scoring Asians.

“We are seeking equal treatment regardless of race,” said Chunyan Li, a professor and civil rights activist, who said they’d rather the Ivy League universities use income rather than race in affirmative action policies. “If it is all implemented objectively,  than how come all Asians on average have such higher scores? What’s the fairness in this?”

More than 60 Chinese, Indian, Korean and Pakistani groups came together to file the complaint with the civil rights offices at the Justice and Education departments. The multicultural groups are calling for an investigation, saying these schools need to stop using racial quotas or racial balancing in admission.

The complaint argues that although the total population of Asian and Pacific Islanders has increased in the US, the admission rate for Asian-Americans at Harvard University has remained at a relatively static rate.

It points to a 2011 Princeton University study, “No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal,” in which researchers conducted a racial breakdown of SAT scores.

“An Asian-American student has to score 140 points higher than a white student, 270 points higher than a Hispanic student and 450 points higher than a black student on the SAT to be on equal footing,” Princeton Professor Thomas J. Espenshade and researcher Alexandria Radford argue.

Harvard says its admissions approach has been found to be “fully compliant federal law.”

Officials also say the number of Asian students admitted increased from 17.6 percent to 21 percent in the last decade. This year, it accepted 5.4 percent of applicants who applied for a spot in the Class of 2019. Of the 1,990 admitted students, 21 percent identified as Asian-American.

“We will vigorously defend the right of Harvard, and other universities, to continue to seek the educational benefits that come from a class that is diverse on multiple dimensions,” said Robert Iuliano, Harvard’s general counsel. “Within its holistic admissions process, and as part of its effort to build a diverse class, Harvard College has demonstrated a strong record of recruiting and admitting Asian American students.”

Iuliano referenced the Supreme Court’s landmark 1978 decision in Regents of University of California vs. Bakke, which upheld affirmative action and specifically cited Harvard’s admissions plan as a “legally sound approach” to admissions.

However, the nationwide coalition disagrees on the university’s so-called “holistic” approach.

“If Harvard pushes for a holistic approach, then make it fair. If you kept emphasizing race, then there is no way out,” said Professor Li.

The federal suits say that both Harvard and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill rely on “race-based affirmative action policies,” which impact the admissions rate of high-achieving white and Asian American students. The Harvard lawsuit also alleges that the institution specifically curbs the number of Asian Americans it admits each year.

Yukong Zhao, who organized the groups for Friday’s complaint, challenged Harvard to open its admission books to prove that Asians were not purposefully being put at a disadvantage.

“We want to help this country move forward,” Zhao said.

Other Asian American groups and officials also released statements supporting affirmative action, including two members of the US Commission on Civil Rights.

“Neither of us believes that any racial or ethnic group should be subjected to quotas,” Commissioners Michael Yaki and Karen Narasaki said. “Nor do we believe that test scores alone entitle anyone to admission at Harvard. Students are more than their test scores and grades.”

“We hope that this is a sincerely raised issue and not a back door attack on affirmative action that attempts to pit Asian Americans against other minorities, as other efforts have been.”

Meanwhile, more than 120 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community organizations from across the country wrote an open letter in support of equal opportunity and affirmative action in higher education.

“Instead of asking Americans to come together to help address serious problems in our education system, these folks are trying to divide communities. We are in this boat together and Asians won’t save our children’s future by pushing other communities overboard,” stated Christopher Punongbayan, executive director at Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. (Allyson Escobar/AJPress with reports from Associated Press, Fox News, CNN)