The debate over affirmative action in college admissions has taken a new twist: The Justice Department is seeking lawyers for investigations and possible lawsuits against universities to prohibit what they deem is “intentional race-based discrimination.”
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in a University of Texas case that school officials can consider race in making admissions decisions, upholding the value of having a racially diverse student body. But affirmative action critics say there is still legal room to challenge such policies, and there are cases now pending at the University of North Carolina and Harvard University, both accusing the school of discrimination against Asian Americans.
This piece looks at one of those lawsuits and about a basic problem with the way merit in admissions is determined in the first place. It was written by Julia Sass Rubin, an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Harvard and the false premise of meritocratic university admissions
The Washington Post, August 10, 2017