Harvard's admissions policy has been in the spotlight since a 2018 trial brought on behalf of Asian American students who claimed the way in which they were ranked was discriminatory.
Harvard won the case, but it has continued to make its way through the appeals process, and last month the Supreme Court of the United States announced it would take up the case in its next term, along with a similar lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Experts on the subject joined host Callie Crossley on Basic Black to discuss the future of affirmative action and how it could impact students of color.
Dr. Paul Watanabe, the director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, is an Asian American who was admitted to Harvard for graduate school years ago.
"I think Asian Americans should understand the value of how they have benefited from affirmative action. ... I am somebody who was assisted by affirmative action," said Watanabe.
He added that other preferential admission practices "overwhelmingly" benefit white students. He cited statistics from a study of Harvard's admissions data which shows that more than a third of white students accepted were accepted for reasons other than merit: recruited athletes, legacy students, those on the dean's interest list, and children of school staff. The study showed 70% of legacy applicants — whose parents or other family members attended the same college —are white.
"That's the culprit I think that we have to consider here that's standing in the way of the diversity that we want to see," he said.
In a country that is wrestling with systemic racism in every facet of life, studies have shown that affirmative action works.
Dr. Natasha Warikoo, a sociology professor at Tufts University, said sociologists have found positive outcomes as a result of affirmative action, including increased civic engagement, cognitive capacity and improved racial attitudes.
Warikoo said it's unclear whether affirmative action could ever come to an end, but if it does, colleges and universities are making other changes to benefit students of color. She mentioned how some schools are moving away from considering SAT results and legacy status, as well as reducing recruitment of athletes.
"I think universities will also be creative in trying to figure out ways to be as inclusive as possible while following the law," she said.
Affirmative action benefits all students of color, said Bethany Li, senior attorney and director of Asian outreach at Greater Boston Legal Services. She noted that 70% of Asian Americans support affirmative action, and the minority who don't are a bit of a "smokescreen."
For colleges that are discriminating against students, the remedy isn't to get rid of affirmative action, it's to stop the discrimination, according to Jessica Lewis, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
"When we're looking at striking down affirmative action, we really are looking at kind of destroying one sector or one aspect of diversity that is on campus," Lewis said.
All of the guests on Basic Black agreed that affirmative action has an important place in the future of college admissions. The Supreme Court's decision is expected in spring or summer of 2023.
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