Harvard teaches America a lesson in diversity -- without discriminating
SAN DIEGO -- When all is right with the universe, Harvard beats Yale. And now my alma mater has beaten the rap.
As you may have noticed, the merit system is constantly on trial these days. Whether it is wealthy parents cheating the college admissions process with bribes and fraud to get their kids a spot, or the children of politicians trading on their names to get lucrative consulting deals, evidence is piling up that suggests your parents were right when they said: "It's not what you know, but who you know."
In a federal courthouse in Boston, Harvard stood accused of intentionally discriminating against Asian Americans to make room for less qualified African Americans and Latinos.
Whatever "qualified" means.
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that a whopping 43% of white students admitted to Harvard fell into one or more of four categories: athletes, legacy students, children of faculty and staff, or on the "Dean's Interest List," which includes applicants whose parents or relatives have donated to the university.
There's the real preferential treatment. Where is the lawsuit against these beneficiaries?
Exhibit A is Jared Kushner. The first son-in-law is a member of Harvard's Class of 2003. It probably didn't hurt his chances that his father had donated $2.5 million to the university.
The study -- which looked at admissions data from 2009 to 2014 -- also found that roughly 75% of the white students admitted from those four categories would have been rejected if not for those designations.
These days, students of color also fall into those categories. Yet, in those cases, the percentages drop dramatically. With African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans, less than 16% of those admitted had those designations.
Sorry, America. But we're not post-racial yet.
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