Harvard discriminates against Asian-americans, says lawyer

BOSTON: Harvard University discriminates against Asianamerican applicants in order to illegally limit how many it admits, a lawyer for a group suing the school said on Monday at the start of a closely watched trial.

The non-jury trial before US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston pits the Ivy League school against Students for Fair Admissions, whose 2014 lawsuit challenges the use of race as a factor in college admissions decisions.

SFFA, which is headed by antiaffirmative action activist Edward Blum, claims that Harvard illegally engages in “racial balancing” that artificially limits the number of Asian-american students at the elite school. Even statistics showed Asian-americans applicants outperformed other racial groups on academic measures, yet that was not necessarily borne out on Harvard’s campus, Adam Mortara, a lawyer for SFFA, said in his opening statement.

Harvard pushes down the scores Asian-americans receive on “personal” rating that measures an applicant’s subjective likability, grit and positivity and improperly allows race to play a factor in those scores, Mortara said.

“There’s no other possible explanation,” he said.

Harvard was expected to deliver its own opening statement later on Monday. It denies discriminating against Asianamericans, saying their rates of admission have grown significantly since 2010. The lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, could eventually reach the Supreme Court. — Reuters