The Trump administration is supporting Asian American students who are suing Harvard University.
CNBC reports that Asian American students who are suing Harvard University over discriminatory administration processes now have the support of the Trump administration.
Last November, Harvard was accused of limiting the number of Asian Americans admitted into the university. The US Justice Department threatened to sue the university if the institution failed to hand over certain records.
Although the university complied, non-profit group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) proceeded to sue the university for “engaging in racial balancing, uses race as far more than a ‘plus’ factor, and has no interest in exploring race-neutral alternatives“.
Harvard has rejected all allegations of any racial bias in their administration process.
Nonetheless, the Trump administration has shown its support for those suing the university.
In response, the Harvard’s Office of Public Affairs said, “we are deeply disappointed that the Department of Justice has taken the side of Edward Blum and Students for Fair Admissions, recycling the same misleading and hollow arguments that prove nothing more than the emptiness of the case against Harvard.”
“Harvard does not discriminate against applicants from any group, and will continue to vigorously defend the legal right of every college and university to consider race as one factor among many in college admissions,” the university added.
Justice Department officials argue that the university has failed to explain how it uses race in its administration.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “No American should be denied admission to school because of their race.”
The university uses a “personal rating” with factors including being a “good person” or “like-ability”, which could be biased against Asian Americans, according to Sessions.
“The Supreme Court has called such attempts to ‘racially balance’ the makeup of a student body ‘patently unconstitutional,'” Sessions said.
