Biden DOJ dismisses discrimination suit against Yale

As expected, the Justice Department, now under the control of Joe Biden, has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against Yale for discriminating against Whites and Asian Americans on the basis of their race. I wrote about that suit here and here.

The Justice Department’s complaint demonstrates the magnitude of Yale’s race-based disfavoring of Whites and Asians. According to the complaint, which is based on the DOJ’s lengthy investigation of Yale’s undergraduate admissions process, Blacks in the tenth decile (the top one) are admitted to Yale at a rate of 60 percent. By contrast, Whites are admitted at a rate of 20 percent and Asians at a rate of only 14 percent.

Because Yale is a highly selective college, few applicants of any race or ethnicity are admitted from the third decile or below. However, in the fourth decile, Blacks are admitted at a rate of 12 percent — about the same rate at which Asians in the tenth decile (the top one) are admitted. The admission rates for Whites and Asians in the fourth decile are just 2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

In the fifth decile, Blacks are admitted at a rate of 21 percent — about the same rate as Whites in the tenth decile. For Whites and Asians in the fifth decile, the admission rates are just 4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

In other words, Blacks with slightly below average credentials in relation to other applicants stand about the same chance of being admitted to Yale as Whites and Asians whose credentials place them in the top 10 percent of the applicant pool.

That’s blatant racial discrimination. It’s also fine with the “moderate” Biden administration. By contrast, nearly three-fourths of Americans believe that race shouldn’t be a factor in college admissions, according to a Pew Research survey.

Fortunately, the DOJ’s dismissal isn’t likely to let Yale off the hook. Edward Blum of Students for Fair Admissions promptly announced that his group will file its own anti-discrimination lawsuit against Yale in the coming days. Students for Fair Admissions has already sued Harvard for race discrimination in admissions. It is also challenging racially discriminatory admissions practices at the University of North Carolina and the University of Texas.

The Harvard suit was unsuccessful at the district court and court of appeals levels. However, I expect that Students for Fair Admissions will ask the Supreme Court to hear the matter. As Blum said in a Students for Fair Admissions press release:

Using race and ethnicity in college admissions decisions is unfair, unconstitutional and is fraying the social fabric that holds our nation together. . .Discriminatory admissions policies like Yale’s must be challenged in federal court.

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