VOA慢速英语2019 美国联邦法官裁定哈佛大学的招生政策没有歧视亚裔（在线收听）

Judge Rules Harvard Does Not Discriminate against Asian-Americans

A U.S. federal judge ruled Tuesday that Harvard University’s admission policy does not discriminate against Asian-American students.

美国联邦法官周二裁定，哈佛大学的招生政策没有歧视亚裔美国人身份的学生。

Judge Allison Burroughs said that although Harvard’s admission program is “not perfect,” it “passes constitutional muster.” The judge wrote in her decision that creating “diversity at Harvard relies, in part, on race conscious admissions."

艾莉森·伯劳斯法官表示，尽管哈佛的录取程序“并不完美”，但是它“符合宪法规定。”法官在判决书中写道，“在哈佛创造多样性，某种程度上取决于考虑种族的录取程序。”

She added there is no evidence that any admission decision was “negatively affected by Asian-American identity.”

她还说，没有证据表明有任何录取决定受到了“亚裔美国人身份的负面影响。”

The group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) brought legal action against the Ivy League school in 2014. SFFA says it will appeal the decision to a higher court.

“公平招生组织”于2014年对这所常春藤盟校发起了诉讼。“公平招生组织”声称将会上诉至美国最高法院。

Edward Blum, the group’s president, said in a statement that the evidence SFFA presented during the three-week trial “revealed Harvard’s systemic discrimination against Asian-American applicants.”

该组织主席爱德华·布鲁姆在一份声明中称，“公平招生组织”在为期三周的审判中所提供的证据“揭露了哈佛大学对亚裔美国人的系统性歧视。”

Harvard did not immediately answer requests for comment.

哈佛大学没有立即回应记者的置评请求。

The SFFA argued that Harvard held Asian Americans to a higher standard in admissions. The group said the Ivy League school gave preference to black and Hispanic students with lower grades.

“公平招生组织”认为，哈佛大学拔高了亚裔美国人的录取标准。该组织表示，这所常春藤盟校偏袒分数更低的黑人和西班牙裔学生。

The SFFA centered its argument on a subjective “personal rating” that Harvard gives to applicants. The group claimed Asian Americans often receive lower personal ratings than black and Hispanic applicants. This, SFFA said, led to the rejection of Asian American applicants who had stronger academic records.

“公平招生组织”的论据集中在哈佛大学对申请人的“个人评价”上。该组织声称，亚裔美国人的个人评分通常会低于黑人和西班牙裔申请人。“公平招生组织”表示，这导致了学术成绩更好的亚裔美国人被拒绝录取。

In a 2013 internal report, Harvard found that if the school weighed applicants based only on academic records, 43 percent of the admitted class would be Asian-American. The actual percentage of Asian Americans was 19 percent.

哈佛大学在2013年的一份内部报告中，如果学校仅仅基于学业成绩衡量申请者，43%的录取者将会是亚裔美国人。而亚裔美国人的实际录取比例是19%。

Harvard denies using discriminatory practices in its admissions process. The school says it uses race as one of many things it considers in admissions decisions. It believes considering race can help create a mixed community “where students from all walks of life” can learn with and from each other.

哈佛大学否认在录取过程中采用了歧视性做法。该校称其将种族因素作为录取决定中考虑的众多因素之一。学校认为，考虑种族因素能有助于创造一个多种族的社群，来自各个阶层的学生可以互相学习。

Harvard called SFFA a political group with no real interest in helping Asian Americans. During the trial, no students testified that they had faced discrimination by Harvard.

哈佛大学称“公平招生组织”是一个政治团体，并非真有兴趣帮助亚裔美国人。在审判期间，没有学生出庭作证认为自己受到了哈佛大学的歧视。

Supreme Court rulings

最高法院裁决

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard several cases about affirmative action in recent years.

美国最高法院近年来审理了几起有关平权行动的案件。

The court’s most recent decision on the subject approved limited use of race in the admission process. That 2016 decision came from a lawsuit against the University of Texas that accused the school of discriminating against white students.

最高法院在这方面的最新判决认可了在录取过程中有限地考虑种族因素。这起2016年的裁决是出自一起状告德克萨斯大学歧视白人学生的诉讼。

Harvard University leaders have said the school only considers race in a way that earlier Supreme Court cases have permitted. The university has also noted that its share of Asian Americans has grown in recent years.

哈佛大学负责人表示，该校只在最高法院此前审理案件允许的范围内考虑种族因素。该大学还指出近年来亚裔美国人的录取比例有所提高。

Harvard reports that 25.3 percent of the latest first-year students are Asian-American. Blacks make up 14.3 percent. Hispanic are 12.2 percent and 1.8 percent are Native American.

哈佛大学报告称，最新学年的大一学生中有25.3%是亚裔美国人。黑人占到了14.3%。西班牙裔占12.2%，而美国土著占1.8%。

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has fought affirmative action at several schools. In August 2018, the Justice Department issued a statement siding with Students for Fair Admissions and accusing Harvard of “outright racial balancing.”

川普政府已经在几所学校努力争取平权行动。2018年8月，美国司法部发表声明声援“公平招生组织”，指责哈佛大学“公开搞种族平衡。”

The department is also investigating the use of race at Yale University.

司法部也正在调查耶鲁大学考虑种族因素的情况。

Students for Fair Admissions has also taken legal action against the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, over alleged discrimination against Asian-American applicants. That lawsuit, also filed in 2014, is still ongoing.

“公平招生组织”还指控北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校涉嫌歧视亚裔美国人身份的申请人。这起诉讼也是在2014年发起，目前仍在审理当中。

I'm Anne Ball.

Words in This Story

pass muster - idiom, to be judged as acceptable or good enough

rely - v. to depend on something

conscious - adj. aware of something

applicant - n. someone who formally asks for something (such as a job or admission to a college) : someone who applies for something

systemic - adj. of or relating to an entire system?

internal - adj. coming from the inside

lawsuit - n. a process by which a court of law makes a decision