Appeals court clears Harvard of racial bias

BOSTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling clearing Harvard University of discrimination against Asian American applicants.

Two judges on the 1st U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected claims from an antiaffirmative action group that accuses the Ivy League University of imposing a “racial penalty” on Asian Americans.

The decision delivers a blow to the group, Students for Fair Admissions, and moves the case a step closer to a possible review by the U. S. Supreme Court. Some legal scholars believe the court will take up the case, and both sides have been preparing for that outcome.

Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, said he was disappointed but that “our hope is not lost.”

“This lawsuit is now on track to go up to the U. S. Supreme Court where we will ask the justices to end these unfair and unconstitutional racebased admissions policies at Harvard and all colleges and universities,” Blum said in a written statement.

The case revived a national debate about race’s role in college admissions. In multiple decisions spanning decades, the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that colleges can consider race as a limited factor in order to promote campus diversity.

But the practice faces mounting challenges in the courts, including three suits from Students from Fair Admissions.

In the latest decision, the judges concluded that Harvard’s admissions process passes legal muster and meets requirements previously created by the Supreme Court.

The group’s 2014 lawsuit alleges that Harvard’s admissions officers use a subjective “personal rating” to discriminate against Asian Americans who apply to the school. Using six years of admissions data, the group found that Asian American applicants had the best academic records but received the lowest scores on the personal rating.