VOA慢速英语--美国司法部对耶鲁大学招生歧视案撤诉

US Drops Case Against Yale for Racial Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Justice withdrew a lawsuit¹ last week against Yale University over how it accepts students. In October 2020, the department accused the school in New Haven², Connecticut of making it too hard for Asian-American and white American students to be accepted.

The lawsuit said Yale uses race as a "determinative factor" in hundreds of admissions decisions each year. That term means race was considered a main reason for accepting or denying students.

The case resulted from a legal action brought in 2016 by the Asian American Coalition³ for Education. The organization condemned⁴ the Justice Department's sudden move on Wednesday, calling the dismissal "baseless."

Difficult decisions

Colleges and universities in the U.S. say they make an effort to seek out and admit qualified⁵ students from different backgrounds. The decisions are not based on grades and test scores alone.

That means they consider where a student is from, what kind of high school they attended and what kind of experiences they had in life before college. These considerations include the student's race and citizenship⁶.

In the past, many American universities placed limits on the number of racial or religious minorities they would accept. Some had policies barring such groups.

Many schools also have a system that favors applicants⁸ whose parents attended the school. These students were known as "legacies⁹." Critics say these policies help only rich, white people.

Since the 1950s, the U.S. government has asked universities to end unfair admissions policies and to consider students based on merit.

However, although policies have changed and many legal cases have been brought, change has been slow. At famous colleges, like the Ivy¹⁰ League schools in the northeastern U.S., there is still a relatively¹¹ low percentage of Black students. The Ivy League includes Harvard University in Massachusetts, Yale University in Connecticut and Princeton University in New Jersey¹².

Cases that have gone to the U.S. Supreme¹³ Court helped universities update how they make their admissions decisions. The policy that permits universities to give extra weight to the race of an applicant⁷ when making their decision is called affirmative action.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled several times that colleges can consider race as a way to accept students with different backgrounds. However, some groups of students have disputed affirmative action policies. They say famous universities are preventing qualified Asian-American and white students from being accepted.

For example, a lawsuit brought against Harvard in 2014 said outstanding Asian American students were being penalized¹⁴ because of their race. Last November, however, a court in Boston ruled that Harvard University was not breaking rules related to admissions.

After the ruling, Students for Fair Admissions, which brought the case, said it would appeal to the Supreme Court. "Our hope is not lost," said Edward Blum, the group's president.

Yale denies unfair treatment

In the Yale case, Asian American students said they were not being treated in a fair way. And, in a statement last August, the Department of Justice said Asian American and white students had "only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission" when compared to similar Black students.

Yale rejected this. The university's president said it would not change its admissions policies. With the recent ruling, it will not have to change. A spokeswoman called the Justice Department's decision "gratifying."

Swan Lee is a co-founder of the Asian American Coalition for Education. She was angry about the decision. "It's a setback¹⁵ in our fight against racial discrimination against Asian Americans in education," she said.

Some civil rights groups say the Department of Justice's recent decision was a good one. David Hinojosa is director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

He said the decision fits with past court decisions that said admissions decisions that consider race are legal. "Black students and other students of color who come from all walks of life can rest a little easier knowing our government is looking to lift them up, not divide and suppress," he said.

While the case against Yale will not move forward with the support of the U.S. government, the case against Harvard will likely continue.

Blum said his organization believes the best chance for his group's lawsuit to find receptive judges is at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is expected to decide soon if it will hear an appeal in the Harvard case.

"The challenge to race-based affirmative action in higher education will continue regardless of any change in the Department of Justice," Blum said.

Words in This Story

lawsuit- n. a process by which a court of law makes a decision to end a disagreement between people or organizations

merit- n. a good quality or feature that deserves to be praised

applicant –n. a person who is applying for a position or to attend a school, college or university

penalize- v. to be punished for something (whether it is fair or not)

gratifying- adj. giving pleasure or satisfaction

setback- n. a problem that makes progress more difficult or success less likely

receptive- adj. willing to listen to or accept ideas, suggestions

challenge –n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do

1 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。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

6 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

7 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。

8 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。

9 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

13 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。

14 penalized   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• You will be penalized for poor spelling. 你拼写不好将会受到处罚。
• Team members will be penalized for lateness. 队员迟到要受处罚。

15 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。