After Harvard, Yale is now being investigated for discriminating against Asian-American applicants
The action follows an investigation of Harvard University
Yale University is under investigation by the federal government for discriminating against Asian-American applicants, President Peter Salovey acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday.
The Justice Department is already examining admissions policies at Harvard University, which is also accused in a civil lawsuit of bias against Asian-American applicants. That case is scheduled to go to trial in Boston on October 15.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that the Justice and Education Departments have initiated a civil rights inquiry into whether Yale illegally discriminates against Asian-American in its application process.
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“I write now to state unequivocally that Yale does not discriminate in admissions against Asian Americans or any other racial or ethnic group, to share information about our undergraduate admissions practices, and to affirm our unwavering commitment to diversity as a pillar of this university,” Salovey said in an email message to the Yale community.
The development signals that the Justice Department has expanded its scrutiny of admissions practices to other elite private universities. A department spokeswoman, Kelly Laco, declined to confirm the investigation, saying only that the department “takes extremely seriously any potential violation of an individual’s constitutional rights”.
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Over the last 15 years, the number of Asian Americans in Yale’s freshman class has grown from less than 14 per cent to 21.7 per cent of the class of 2022, Salovey said.