Judge upholds ‘race-conscious’ Harvard admissions

A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against a group of college applicants who claimed Harvard University unfairly rejected them to keep its Asian American student population artificially low. The group that brought the suit, Students for Fair Admissions, said it plans to appeal.

What is at stake in the case? It could overturn the use of affirmative action by schools to create diverse student populations. The plaintiffs argued that affirmative action policies resulted in Harvard holding Asian Americans to a higher standard than other pools of applicants. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs said she found “no persuasive documentary evidence of any racial animus or conscious prejudice against Asian Americans.” Burroughs said that the university’s admissions program is “not perfect,” but that “ensuring diversity at Harvard relies, in part, on race-conscious admissions.”

Dig deeper: Read Leigh Jones’ report in Schooled giving insight into Harvard’s secretive admissions process.