DOJ sues Yale in ongoing affirmative action fight

University refused to cut race considerations from its admissions process

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a discrimination lawsuit against Yale University Thursday after the elite school refused to eliminate race considerations from its admissions process, escalating the fight over the

Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to rollback university affirmative action policies nationwide.

A two-year investigation by the Justice Department released in August concluded race is “the determinative factor” in hundreds of admissions at Yale, effectively discriminating against Asian American and white applicants with comparable academic credentials to Black applicants who are accepted

to the university, investigators said.

The Justice Department ordered Yale not to consider race or national origin in its upcoming undergraduate admission cycle or face legal action. Yale leaders have pushed back on the findings and refused to change policies, prompting the lawsuit filed Thursday.

“All persons whoapply for admission to colleges and universities should expect and know that they will be judged by their character, talents, and achievements and not the color of their skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “Todootherwise is to permit our institutions to foster stereotypes, bitterness, and division.”

But Yale leaders have refuted the Justice Department’s findings as a “meritless, hasty accusation” and university President Peter Salovey again slammed the DOJ’s lawsuit on Thursday night.

“I want to be clear: Yale does not discriminate against applicants of any race or ethnicity,” Salovey wrote in a letter to students and staff. “Our admissions practices are completely fair and lawful. Yale’s admissions policies will not change as a result of the filing of this baseless lawsuit. We look forward to defending these policies in court.”

Salovey argued the government’s complaint is based on “inaccurate statistics and unfounded conclusions.” Admissions data over the past decades show the percentage of admitted applicants has “fluctuated significantly” across all racial groups.

The investigation into Yale’s admissions practices began in April 2018 when the Justice Department took up complaints that Yale, Harvard and other top universities over-considered race in their extremely competitive admissions processes, thereby violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The universities must comply with the landmark legislation that prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin because they receive federal education funding — more than $600 million annually to Yale, according to the new federal complaint. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled race may be used in limited ways in admissions, which paved the way for affirmative action policies to make higher education more equitable for minority students, the Justice Department concluded race “is anything but limited” in

Yale’s admissions process.

Both Yale and Harvard were accused of turning away qualified Asian American applicants to further diversify their student bodies, and federal investigators concluded this summer that Asian American and white applicants to Yale were only 10% to 25% as likely to be admitted as Black students with comparable grades. A judge ruled in Harvard’s favor a year ago, but that case has been appealed.

Yale officials have argued they consider “the whole person” when reviewing applicants because it gets too many elite applicants to distinguish them on grade point averages and test scores alone.

“That does include race and ethnicity, but only as one element in a multi-stage examination of the entire application file, which takes into account test scores, grades, teacher recommendations, extracurricular activities, military service, and many other factors,” Salovey said. “No single element is considered independently of the whole application.”

The Yale case now is poised to become the latest flash point in President Donald Trump and conservative activists’ years-long campaign to replace affirmative action standards with so-called “race-neutral” policies. The original investigations into Yale and Harvard were widely seen at the time as unusual, aggressive moves by the Justice Department to interject itself into that fight.

Longtime education officials have called those investigations overtly political and other Connecticut university officials also have spoke out against the government’s arguments that would undermine affirmative action policies. Wesleyan University President Michael Roth called the August announced a “shameful ploy” and political pandering and Salovey has previously made similar arguments about the accusations’ political nature.

“As our country grapples with urgent questions about race and social justice, I have never been more certain that Yale’s approach to undergraduate admissions helps us to fulfill our mission to improve the world today and for future generations,” Salovey wrote Thursday. “We remain unwavering in our commitment to identifying applicants whose individual experiences and abilities will combine to create an extraordinary educational community.”