VOA慢速英语2018 哈佛被指控歧视亚裔美国人

Harvard Accused of Discriminating¹ Against Asian-Americans

A United States federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, is hearing a discrimination case against the oldest university in the country.

马萨诸塞州波士顿市的一家联邦法院正在审理一起控告该国最古老大学的歧视案。

The nonprofit organization Students for Fair Admissions first took legal action against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014. It says the school discriminates² against Asian-Americans seeking admission.

非营利性的“大学生公平入学”组织于2014年首次对马萨诸塞州剑桥市的哈佛大学提起法律诉讼。该组织表示，哈佛大学歧视申请入学的亚裔美国人。

The legal action accuses Harvard of holding Asian-American students to higher requirements than students of other races. It says the university uses “racial balancing” policies that unlawfully limit how many Asian American students it accepts.

这起诉讼控告哈佛大学对亚裔学生维持高于其他种族学生的入学要求。它称该大学采用“种族平衡”政策，非法限制所录取的亚裔学生人数。

The organization argues that race should not be considered when deciding which students to accept. The use of “racial classifications and preferences” is “unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional,” the group says on its website.

该组织辩称，在学生录取的决定中不应该考虑种族因素。该组织在其网站上表示，使用“种族分类和偏好”是“不公平、不必要的，并且违反了宪法。”

It accuses the school of discriminating against Asian-Americans seeking admission by giving them a “personal rating.”

它指控该校通过“个性评分”歧视亚裔美国人。

Lawyers for Students for Fair Admissions said these ratings seek to measure personal qualities such as “courage” and “likeability.” Such qualities are measured subjectively⁴, leaving the process open to discrimination, the lawyers argued.

“大学生公平入学”组织的律师表示，这些评分旨在衡量“勇气”和“喜好度”等个人品质。律师们认为，这类品质是主观衡量的，使得这一过程容易受到歧视。

The group says it has more than 20,000 members, including students, parents and others.

该组织称其有20万成员，包括学生、家长等人。

Harvard denies using discriminatory practices in its admissions process. The Ivy⁵ League 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.

哈弗大学否认在招生过程中采用歧视性做法。这所常春藤联盟学校表示，它将种族作为招生决策过程中考虑的众多因素之一。该校认为，考虑种族可以帮助建立一个由不同种族组成的社区，各种学生能够相互学习。

Education and employment policies that consider race are known as affirmative action. Supporters say these policies can help make up for historic, widespread racial discrimination of minority groups. Critics have long argued that affirmative action is unfair to white people and Asian-Americans who outperform other groups on academic measures.

在教育和就业政策中考虑种族因素被称为平权运动。支持者称这些政策可以帮助弥补少数族群受到的历史性和广泛性的歧视。批评者长期以来一直认为，平权行动对学业成绩优于其他群体的白人和亚裔来说是不公平的。

The U.S. Supreme⁶ Court has heard several cases about affirmative action in recent years.

美国最高法院最近几年审理了几起关于平权行动的案子。

The Supreme Court’s most recent decision on the subject approved limited use of race in the admission process. That 2016 decision came from a lawsuit⁷ against the University of Texas that accused the school of discriminating against white students.

最高法院就此问题做出的最新裁决批准了种族因素在录取过程中的有限使用。2016年做出的这一裁决来自一起控告德克萨斯大学歧视白人学生的诉讼。

Harvard leaders have said the school only considers race in the way earlier Supreme Court cases have ruled is permitted.

哈佛大学的领导人表示，该校只会照最高法院已经裁决允许的方式考虑种族因素。

The university has also noted⁸ that its share of Asian-Americans has grown in recent years, reaching 23 percent of the latest first year class.

该校还指出其亚裔学生比例近年来有所增长，亚裔在最近入学的一年级学生中达到了23%的比例。

Harvard reports that 15.2 percent of its most recent first year class is African-American. Hispanic or Latino students make up 12.3 percent, while 1.9 percent are Native American. That leaves a remaining group of mainly white students at under 50 percent.

哈佛大学报告称，最新入学的一年级学生中，非洲裔美国人占到了15.2%，西班牙裔或拉美裔学生占到了12.3％，而美洲原住民占到了1.9%。这使得以白人为主的其它群体所占的比例低于了50%。

President Donald Trump⁹’s administration supports the argument against Harvard.

川普政府支持反哈佛大学的观点。

In July, the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing government guidelines meant to increase student diversity at U.S. schools. The guidelines were developed during the presidency¹⁰ of Barack Obama. The guidance stated that schools could consider race in admissions decisions as long as the policies did not violate Supreme Court decisions.

今年7月，川普政府宣布退出旨在增加美国学校学生多样性的指导方针。这些指导方针是在奥巴马任内制定的。这些方针指出，只要政策不违反最高法院裁决，学校就可以在录取决定中考虑种族因素。

The U.S. Justice Department said it was withdrawing the guidelines because it considered them “unnecessary or outdated¹¹.” Civil rights groups criticized the move and some university officials said they would continue their efforts toward mixed student populations as before.

美国司法部称退出这些指导方针是因为它们是“不必要的或者过时了。”民权组织批评此举，一些大学官员表示，他们将会像以前一样，努力建立一个由多种族组成的学生群体。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

classification – n. the process of putting people or things into groups by their type, size, etc, or one of these groups

preference – n. the feeling of liking¹² something or someone more than another person or thing

courage – n. the ability to do something without being afraid

subjective³ – adj. influenced by someone else’s beliefs or feelings instead of facts

affirmative action – n. the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.

1 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。

2 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 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。

4 subjectively   

主观地； 臆

参考例句：

• Subjectively, the demand of interest is the desire of human being. 荀子所说的对利的需要从主观上说就是人的欲望。
• A sound also has an amplitude, a property subjectively heard as loudness. 声音有振幅，振幅的主观感觉是声音的大小。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

12 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。