VOA教育报道2023--Activists Challenge Harvard’s Legacy Admissions

Activists¹ Challenge Harvard’s Legacy² Admissions

A civil rights group is taking legal action against legacy admissions at Harvard University. It says the practice discriminates³ against students of color by giving special consideration to mostly white children of alumni.

The practice has faced growing criticism after the recent Supreme⁴ Court decision that ended the consideration of race in college admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The decision ended admissions policies used by American colleges to increase the number of Black, Hispanic and other minority groups.

The legal action was filed Monday by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit group based in Boston. The group filed the complaint on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England. It argued that Harvard's admissions system violates the Civil Rights Act.

"Your family's last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit, and should have no bearing on the college admissions process," said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal. He is the group's executive director.

The civil rights group National Association for the Advancement⁵ of Colored People (NAACP) added its support to the effort on Monday. And the group asked more than 1,500 colleges and universities to make admissions more fair, including by ending legacy admissions.

Opponents of legacy admissions say the practice is no longer defensible following the high court's decision. They note that the Supreme Court's ruling says colleges must ignore the race of applicants⁷ but schools can still give a lift to the children of alumni and donors⁹.

The complaint was submitted to the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. It uses Harvard data that became public during the affirmative action case that went before the Supreme Court. The records showed that 70 percent of Harvard's donor⁸-related and legacy applicants are white. Being a legacy student makes an applicant⁶ about six times more likely to be admitted.

The complaint points out that other selective schools, including Amherst College in Massachusetts and Johns Hopkins University of Maryland, have ended the practice.

The complaint argues that Harvard's legacy preference has nothing to do with merit and takes away spots from qualified¹⁰ students of color. It asks the U.S. Education Department to declare the practice illegal. It also asks the department to force Harvard to stop the practice as long as the university receives federal funding.

If legacy and donor preferences were removed, "more students of color would be admitted to Harvard," the complaint says.

Harvard said it would not comment on the complaint.

The complaint was filed on behalf of Chica Project, African Community Economic Development of New England, and the Greater Boston Latino Network.

Also Monday, the NAACP started a campaign aimed to get universities across the nation to improve diversity. The group called on 532 public and 1,134 private colleges and universities to end legacy preferences, eliminate "racially biased¹²" entrance exams, hire teachers from different backgrounds, and support poor and first-generation students.

Another campaign is urging the alumni of 30 top colleges to stop giving donations until their schools end legacy admissions. That campaign, led by education nonprofit Ed Mobilizer, also targets Harvard and other Ivy¹³ League schools.

U.S. President Joe Biden suggested last week that universities should rethink the practice. He said legacy admissions "expand privilege instead of opportunity."

It is unclear exactly which schools use legacy admissions and how much it helps. In California, state law requires schools to say if they use legacy admissions. The University of Southern California reported that 14 percent of last year's admitted students had family ties to alumni or donors. Stanford reported a similar rate.

An Associated Press survey of the nation's most selective colleges last year found that legacy students in the freshman¹⁴ class ranged from 4 percent to 23 percent. At four schools — Notre Dame¹⁵, the University of Southern California, Cornell and Dartmouth — legacy students outnumbered Black students.

Supporters of legacy admissions say it builds an alumni community and can increase donations. The donations, they add, can help support poor students of color.

Words in This Story

legacy— n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

admission — n. the right or permission to enter a place

alumni — n. someone who was a student at a particular school, college, or university

complaint — n. a statement that you are unhappy or not satisfied with something

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

bearing — n. the way in which a person moves, stands, or behaves

applicant — n. someone who formally asks for something

preference — n. a feeling of liking¹⁶ or wanting one person or thing more than another person or thing

biased — adj. having or showing a bias¹¹

privilege — n. a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others

opportunity — n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 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

4 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。

5 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

6 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。

7 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。

8 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

9 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

12 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

13 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。

14 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

15 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

16 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。