where are the lawsuits over legacy admissions?

It is common for affirmative action critics to sue colleges over race based admissions policies. Here’s my question: How often do critics sue colleges over legacy admissions (i.e., giving preference to alumni children)? I think the answer is “not much.” The lack of concern over legacy admissions suggests that critics don’t really object to the absence of color blind standards. Spending so much money on court fights aimed at under privileged students while ignoring the student who slides by on family connections leaves a very bad taste in one’s mouth.

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Written by fabiorojas

November 19, 2012 at 4:39 am

Posted in academia, education, fabio, law and society

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The Sixth Circuit’s reversal of the Michigan’s state-wide affirmative action ban (PDF) directly juxtaposes these two means of admissions in the summary to explain its justification for overturning the ban:

A student seeking to have her family’s alumni connections considered in her application to one of Michigan’s esteemed public universities could do one of four things to have the school adopt a legacy-conscious admissions policy: she could lobby the admissions committee, she could petition the leadership of the university, she could seek to influence the school’s governing board, or, as a measure of last resort, she could initiate a statewide campaign to alter the state’s constitution. The same cannot be said for a black student seeking the adoption of a constitutionally permissible race-conscious admissions policy. That student could do only one thing to effect change: she could attempt to amend the Michigan Constitution—a lengthy, expensive, and arduous process—to repeal the consequences of Proposal 2.

Not exactly the same thing as challenging legacy admissions in court, but possibly opening the door to the legal argument.

mike3550

November 19, 2012 at 5:45 am

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