Asian American group welcomes news saying they were being used to divide communities of color.
The Biden administration has dropped a lawsuit the previous Trump administration had filed against Yale University accusing it of discriminating against Asian American and White applicants in its undergraduate admissions process.
“Yale rejects scores of Asian American and white applicants each year based on their race,” the Department of Justice had alleged in the lawsuit filed in October.
The case against Yale came on the heels of a similar case against Harvard University, where an anti-affirmative action group sued the university claiming their admissions practices discriminated against Asian American students, CNN reported.
Lower courts ruled Harvard does not discriminate in its admission decisions.
Indian, Asian students lose discrimination case against Harvard (November 13, 2020)
“The department has dismissed its lawsuit in light of all available facts, circumstances, and legal developments, including the November 2020 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit rejecting a challenge to Harvard University’s consideration of race in its admissions practices,” a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
The department has also “withdrawn its notice letter finding that Yale’s practices violate Title VI” of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance,” he added.
Sharing the welcome news with the Yale Community, Yale President Peter Salovey said the DOJ had last August “wrongly alleged that Yale College’s admissions process discriminates against Asian American and white applicants.”
“Even though Yale had cooperated with the department and provided data and facts to correct these misconceptions, the department filed suit against Yale in October,” he wrote.
READ: Asian American groups opposing minority college admissions are riding a tiger (February 10, 2019)
“Today’s news comes at the start of a new semester, which is a time of reflection and recommitment to Yale’s mission of educating future leaders who will serve all sectors of society.”
“Our ability to realize this shared mission relies on an admissions process that looks at the whole applicant: where applicants come from, what they have accomplished, and what they hope to achieve at Yale and after graduation,” Salovey wrote.
“In this way, we create an incoming class that is richly diverse—with invaluable benefits to our students, faculty, and community,” he added.
Niyati Shah, the director of litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, applauded the DOJ’s decision to drop the lawsuit, saying Asian Americans were being used to divide communities of color.
“Students should be able to share their lived experiences during the admissions process and not have to hide who they are,” Shah said in a statement as cited by CNN.
“Everybody should have the opportunity to talk about their lived experiences, and if that means talking about their Asian American identity or their other racial identities, it creates an inclusive learning environment,” she added.
However, Edward Blum, a conservative anti-affirmative action lawyer and the president of Students for Fair Admissions, said Wednesday that it was “disappointing” that the government withdrew from the case and vowed to launch a new lawsuit against the school.
“Students for Fair Admissions intends to file a new lawsuit against Yale in the coming days. Discriminatory admissions policies like Yale’s must be challenged in federal court,” Blum added, according to CNN.
Blum’s group is behind the lawsuit targeting Harvard’s admissions policies.
READ MORE:
Trump administration sues Yale for discriminating against Asians, Whites (October 9, 2020)
Yale accused of discriminating against Asian Americans (August 14, 2020)
We can spell but we do not count? Asian and Indian Americans are scapegoated for the failing education system (June 1, 2019)
Justice Department seeks volunteers to investigate discrimination complaint against Harvard (August 4, 2017)
Justice Department seeks volunteers to investigate discrimination complaint against Harvard (August 4, 2017)
Asian American coalition complain against Yale, Brown, Dartmouth for admissions discrimination (May 23, 2016)
Education Dept. dismissing racial discrimination complaint against Harvard is setback for meritorious Indian American students (July 9, 2015)
Asian American coalition complain against Yale, Brown, Dartmouth for admissions discrimination (May 23, 2016)
If your son is not in Harvard University, is it because he is Asian American? (May 18, 2015 )
For Asian American students battling discrimination in college admissions, now something more startling: ‘race-based grading’ (July 21, 2014)