Civil rights lawyers challenge legacy admissions at Harvard

Boston-based nonprofit Lawyers for Civil Rights on Monday filed a complaint against Harvard University’s policy of giving admissions priority to the children of alumni. The complaint alleges the system violates the Civil Rights Act and discriminates against minority students. Legacy students who applied to Harvard between 2014 and 2019 were nearly six times more likely to be admitted, according to data from Harvard. Although Harvard was named in the lawsuit, many U.S. colleges and universities have practiced legacy admissions, as it is thought to be useful for building an alumni community and gathering donations.

Is anyone else challenging the policies? Senator Tim Scott and other members of Congress last week called for schools to end legacy admissions after the Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action is unconstitutional. The nonprofit group Ed Mobilizer launched a campaign urging the alumni of 30 prestigious universities to withhold their donations until the schools end legacy admissions policies. 

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s story in Schooled about the effects of legacy admissions on higher education.