Lawsuit accusing Harvard of bias against Asian-Americans heads to trial
Harvard is accused of discriminating against Asian-American applicants by using a subjective personal rating system of candidates that is biased against them
Harvard, the oldest university in the United States, must go to trial to defend a lawsuit claiming it discriminates against Asian-American applicants.
District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston on Friday rejected duelling motions by Harvard and a non-profit group suing the Ivy League university to rule in their favour ahead of a non-jury trial set to begin on October 15.
The ruling came after the US Justice Department, which has been investigating Harvard for potential civil rights violations over its affirmative action policy, in August threw its support behind the 2014 lawsuit by Students for Fair Admissions Inc (SFFA).
The group, headed by prominent anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, has alleged that Harvard’s admissions process, which factors in race, significantly disadvantages Asian-Americans compared with other groups.
Burroughs wrote that rather than presenting her with undisputed facts and evidence that would allow her to rule without overseeing a trial, Harvard and SFFA had filed motions that were “essentially mirror images of one another.”
