Trump Administration Backs Asian-Americans in Harvard Case

 

The United States Justice Department on Thursday sided with Asian-American students suing Harvard University over its consideration of race in admissions.

The department said in a court filing Thursday that Harvard has failed to demonstrate that it does not discriminate¹ on the basis of race. It noted² what it described as “substantial evidence” that Harvard is carrying out what the department called “racial balancing.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions added, “No American should be denied admission to school because of their race.”

The Trump³ administration has been pushing for admissions policies that do not use race in the consideration process.

In 2014, the group Students For Fair Admission or SFFA argued that Harvard unfairly treats Asian-Americans who have strong school records. The Ivy⁴ League school denied the accusation⁵. It said it does not discriminate and will fight to defend its right to consider race in admissions.

The U.S. Supreme⁶ Court permits colleges and universities to consider race in admissions. But it says this must be done for the narrow purpose of creating a mix of ethnicities at schools. The court also says the practice should be limited in time. And the court bars the establishment of acceptance levels based on race. The case between the SFFA and Harvard could become the high court’s next test on the issue.

Harvard said it was disappointed by the Justice Department’s position. A university statement said the school “will continue to vigorously defend the legal right of every college and university to consider race” in college admissions. The statement added that the Supreme Court has upheld that legal right for more than 40 years.

The university said colleges and universities must have the freedom to create mixed communities. It said such an environment is critical the learning experience of all students.

Sessions argued the school’s use of a “personal rating,” such as being a “good person” or “likeability,” may be biased⁷ against Asian-Americans. He said the school admits that it scores Asian-Americans lower on “personal rating” than others seeking admission.

In July, the Trump administration cancelled a measure that ordered universities to consider race in their admissions process to make the schools more racially mixed. That order was left over from the last administration of President Barack Obama.

I'm Caty Weaver⁸.

Words in This Story

sue - v. to bring a lawsuit⁹ against someone or something

Ivy League - n. The Ivy League consists of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, and Cornell universities, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College.

disappoint - v. to make (someone) unhappy by not being as good as expected or by not doing something that was hoped for or expected

vigorous - adj. done with great force and energy

biased - adj. having or showing an unfair tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others

1 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

5 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。