US Drops Case Against Yale for Racial Discrimination
2021-02-07
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The U.S. Department of Justice withdrew a lawsuit last week against Yale University over how it accepts students.
2In October 2020, the department accused the school in New Haven, Connecticut of making it too hard for Asian-American and white American students to be accepted.
3The lawsuit said Yale uses race as a "determinative factor" in hundreds of admissions decisions each year.
4That term means race was considered a main reason for accepting or denying students.
5The case resulted from a legal action brought in 2016 by the Asian American Coalition for Education.
6The organization condemned the Justice Department's sudden move on Wednesday, calling the dismissal "baseless."
7Colleges and universities in the U.S. say they make an effort to seek out and admit qualified students from different backgrounds.
8The decisions are not based on grades and test scores alone.
9That 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.
10These considerations include the student's race and citizenship.
11In the past, many American universities placed limits on the number of racial or religious minorities they would accept. Some had policies barring such groups.
12Many schools also have a system that favors applicants whose parents attended the school.
13These students were known as "legacies."
14Critics say these policies help only rich, white people.
15Since the 1950s, the U.S. government has asked universities to end unfair admissions policies and to consider students based on merit.
16However, although policies have changed and many legal cases have been brought, change has been slow.
17At famous colleges, like the Ivy League schools in the northeastern U.S., there is still a relatively low percentage of Black students.
18The Ivy League includes Harvard University in Massachusetts, Yale University in Connecticut and Princeton University in New Jersey.
19Cases that have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court helped universities update how they make their admissions decisions.
20The policy that permits universities to give extra weight to the race of an applicant when making their decision is called affirmative action.
21The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled several times that colleges can consider race as a way to accept students with different backgrounds.
22However, some groups of students have disputed affirmative action policies.
23They say famous universities are preventing qualified Asian-American and white students from being accepted.
24For example, a lawsuit brought against Harvard in 2014 said outstanding Asian American students were being penalized because of their race.
25Last November, however, a court in Boston ruled that Harvard University was not breaking rules related to admissions.
26After the ruling, Students for Fair Admissions, which brought the case, said it would appeal to the Supreme Court.
27"Our hope is not lost," said Edward Blum, the group's president.
28In the Yale case, Asian American students said they were not being treated in a fair way.
29And, 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.
30Yale rejected this.
31The university's president said it would not change its admissions policies.
32With the recent ruling, it will not have to change.
33A spokeswoman called the Justice Department's decision "gratifying."
34Swan Lee is a co-founder of the Asian American Coalition for Education.
35She was angry about the decision.
36"It's a setback in our fight against racial discrimination against Asian Americans in education," she said.
37Some civil rights groups say the Department of Justice's recent decision was a good one.
38David Hinojosa is director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
39He said the decision fits with past court decisions that said admissions decisions that consider race are legal.
40"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.
41While the case against Yale will not move forward with the support of the U.S. government, the case against Harvard will likely continue.
42Blum said his organization believes the best chance for his group's lawsuit to find receptive judges is at the U.S. Supreme Court.
43The court is expected to decide soon if it will hear an appeal in the Harvard case.
44"The challenge to race-based affirmative action in higher education will continue regardless of any change in the Department of Justice," Blum said.
45I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1The U.S. Department of Justice withdrew a lawsuit last week against Yale University over how it accepts students. In October 2020, the department accused the school in New Haven, Connecticut of making it too hard for Asian-American and white American students to be accepted. 2The 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. 3The case resulted from a legal action brought in 2016 by the Asian American Coalition for Education. The organization condemned the Justice Department's sudden move on Wednesday, calling the dismissal "baseless." 4Difficult decisions 5Colleges and universities in the U.S. say they make an effort to seek out and admit qualified students from different backgrounds. The decisions are not based on grades and test scores alone. 6That 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 citizenship. 7In the past, many American universities placed limits on the number of racial or religious minorities they would accept. Some had policies barring such groups. 8Many schools also have a system that favors applicants whose parents attended the school. These students were known as "legacies." Critics say these policies help only rich, white people. 9Since the 1950s, the U.S. government has asked universities to end unfair admissions policies and to consider students based on merit. 10However, although policies have changed and many legal cases have been brought, change has been slow. At famous colleges, like the Ivy League schools in the northeastern U.S., there is still a relatively low percentage of Black students. The Ivy League includes Harvard University in Massachusetts, Yale University in Connecticut and Princeton University in New Jersey. 11Cases that have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court helped universities update how they make their admissions decisions. The policy that permits universities to give extra weight to the race of an applicant when making their decision is called affirmative action. 12The 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. 13For example, a lawsuit brought against Harvard in 2014 said outstanding Asian American students were being penalized because of their race. Last November, however, a court in Boston ruled that Harvard University was not breaking rules related to admissions. 14After 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. 15Yale denies unfair treatment 16In 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. 17Yale 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." 18Swan Lee is a co-founder of the Asian American Coalition for Education. She was angry about the decision. "It's a setback in our fight against racial discrimination against Asian Americans in education," she said. 19Some 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. 20He 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. 21While the case against Yale will not move forward with the support of the U.S. government, the case against Harvard will likely continue. 22Blum 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. 23"The challenge to race-based affirmative action in higher education will continue regardless of any change in the Department of Justice," Blum said. 24I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Dan Friedell. 25Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo of The Associated Press wrote this story. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 26What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 27_______________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29lawsuit- n. a process by which a court of law makes a decision to end a disagreement between people or organizations 30merit- n. a good quality or feature that deserves to be praised 31applicant -n. a person who is applying for a position or to attend a school, college or university 32penalize- v. to be punished for something (whether it is fair or not) 33gratifying- adj. giving pleasure or satisfaction 34setback- n. a problem that makes progress more difficult or success less likely 35receptive- adj. willing to listen to or accept ideas, suggestions 36challenge -n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do