RULING

Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Harvard in Affirmative Action Case

“Ensuring diversity at Harvard relies, in part, on race conscious admissions,” the judge said.

Harvard University’s undergraduate admissions program does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Federal District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled in favor of the Ivy League school on Tuesday, saying that while its admissions program is not perfect, “the court will not dismantle a very fine admissions program that passes constitutional muster, solely because it could do better.” “Ensuring diversity at Harvard relies, in part, on race conscious admissions,” the judge added in her decision. The anti-affirmative action advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions accused Harvard in 2014 of discriminating against Asian-American applicants, saying they were forced to meet a higher standard to gain entry. The school denied using “racial balancing” to curate its student body during a three-week trial in October 2018, arguing that it uses a system designed to look at various applicant qualities.