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

Judge Rules Harvard Does Not Discriminate¹ 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 muster².” 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 affected³ 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 Ivy⁴ 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 applicants⁶.”

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 subjective⁷ “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 rejection⁸ 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 helping⁹ 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。

Supreme¹⁰ 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 lawsuit¹¹ against the University of Texas that accused the school of discriminating¹² 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 noted¹³ 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 Trump¹⁴ 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, Chapel¹⁵ Hill, over alleged¹⁶ discrimination against Asian-American applicants. That lawsuit, also filed in 2014, is still ongoing¹⁷.

“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

applicant⁵ - 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

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 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

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 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

6 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

7 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

8 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 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。

11 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。

12 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

13 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。

14 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。

15 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

16 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

17 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。