Harvard Admissions Case

SFFA has accused Harvard University of discriminating against Asian American applicants to the school.

The Dartmouth College case, which we wrote about yesterday, may be one of the most famous Supreme Court cases in American history, but there’s a Harvard admissions case currently before the courts that’s also raising some eyebrows. Regular readers of our college admissions blog know where we at Ivy Coach stand on the slew of lawsuits that have been filed against highly selective American universities by organizations alleging discrimination against Asian American applicants. If you’re not familiar with our stance, to put it succinctly: Of course Asian Americans are discriminated against in highly selective college admissions. Of course it’s wrong. Of course it must change — Asian Americans deserve better in highly selective college admissions. But filing lawsuits against these universities isn’t the way to bring about this kind of change in America. Not now. Not ever.

Change in America starts with the populace. Selma. Seneca Falls. Stonewall. It doesn’t start in a courtroom. Students for Fair Admissions would be wise to study our American history if the organization truly wishes to bring about change.

One of these actions is being brought against Harvard University by Students for Fair Admissions, an organization we’ve written about extensively on the pages of our blog. Well, in the arduous legal process, SFFA has scored a minor early victory. They haven’t yet gotten their case dismissed (hey, it’s important to celebrate the small victories in life!). As reports William S. Flanagan and Michael E. Xie for “The Harvard Crimson” in a piece entitled “Court Rejects Harvard’s Dismissal of Admissions Lawsuit,” “A federal court rejected Harvard’s motion to dismiss an ongoing lawsuit accusing the College of race-based discrimination against Asian Americans in its admissions practices. Harvard filed its motion to dismiss the lawsuit in Sept. 2016, arguing that the case’s plaintiff—the anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions—lacked the grounds to litigate on behalf of its members because those members ‘have no power to influence [the organization’s] conduct.'”

At Ivy Coach, as our loyal readers know well, we have a famous crystal ball. It’s been cited on the pages of America’s oldest college newspaper, “The Dartmouth.” It can predict if a student is going to get in — or not. It can predict if SFFA or Harvard will win this particular lawsuit. So what does Ivy Coach’s crystal ball predict, you ask? Dim the lights. Our reading indicates that Harvard University will claim victory.

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