Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images
<p>In the wake of the Supreme Court rejecting affirmative action in college admissions, activists are trying to get their lick back by using the ruling to tackle legacy admissions.</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">RELATED: <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/supreme-court-rejects-affirmative-action-higher-education/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SCOTUS Strikes Again: Supreme Court Rejects Affirmative Action In Higher Education</a></h5>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Aht Aht! Activists Say Legacy Admissions &#8220;Are Not A Measure Of Merit&#8221;</h3>
<p>Boston-based nonprofit <a href="http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Federal-Civil-Rights-Complaint-Against-Harvard.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawyers for Civil Rights</a> filed a lawsuit against<strong> Harvard University</strong> over the matter on Monday (July 3). On behalf of Black and Latino communities in the area, the nonprofit points out that 70 percent of Harvard&#8217;s legacy and donor-related applicants are white.</p>
<p>For context, legacy admissions give priority to families of alumni&#8211;who have, historically, been overwhelmingly white. Per the lawsuit, Harvard&#8217;s acceptance rate for legacy applicants between 2014 and 2019 was <em><strong>&#8220;almost six times higher than the acceptance rate for non-legacy applicants.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
<p>As a result, the group acknowledges that &#8220;removing legacy preferences would increase admissions for applicants of color&#8221; while also stating, <strong><em>&#8220;Approximately one-quarter of the white students admitted would not have been admitted if the Donor and Legacy Preferences, among others, did not exist.&#8221; </em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;A spot given to a legacy or donor-related applicant is a spot that becomes unavailable to an applicant who meets the admissions criteria based purely on his or her own merit.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/legacy-admissions-affirmative-action-colleges-4a4e1191274e91e695e0631ff5156875" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AP News</a> reports that <strong>Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal</strong>, the nonprofit&#8217;s executive director, further acknowledged the move in a statement.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations? Your family&#8217;s last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit and should have no bearing on the college admissions process.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s also worth acknowledging that President <strong>Joe Biden</strong> recently declared that &#8220;practices like legacy admissions&#8221; ultimately &#8220;expand privilege instead of opportunity,&#8221; per <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/6/30/legacy-scrutiny-sffa-harvard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Harvard Crimson</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">SCOTUS Opened The Door By Striking Down Affirmative Action</h3>
<p>As The Shade Room reported, the Supreme Court shot down <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/supreme-court-rejects-affirmative-action-higher-education/?_gl=1*fwegjd*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjAzNzgyMzM5Mi4xNjg4Mzk2NzQx*_ga_V2HX8YP3XL*MTY4ODM5Njc0MC4xLjAuMTY4ODM5Njc0MC4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">affirmative action</a> in higher education on Thursday (Jun. 29).</p>
<p>The process allowed universities to consider race as a factor when admitting applicants. It was ushered in to benefit students from underrepresented communities. However, it&#8217;s been slammed throughout the years for allegedly being unfair to white and Asian applicants.</p>
<p><amp-instagram data-shortcode="CuFEddLuirc" layout="responsive" width="600" height="600" data-captioned></amp-instagram></p>
<p>While SCOTUS has continually upheld affirmative action in the past, the new conservative majority has now found it unconstitutional. Within her dissent, Justice <strong>Ketanji Brown Jackson</strong> called the decision a &#8220;tragedy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Justice <strong>Sonia Sotomayor</strong> said the ruling <strong><em>&#8220;rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
<p><amp-twitter data-tweetid="1674426639898542081" layout="responsive" width="600" height="480"></amp-twitter></p>
 <div class="wpra-reactions-wrap wpra-plugin-container" style="justify-content: center;;"> <div class="wpra-reactions-container" data-ver="1.3.10" data-post_id="127251" data-show_count="true" data-enable_share="onclick" data-behavior="regular" data-animation="true" data-share_url="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/harvard-sued-legacy-admissions-affirmative-action-ruling/" data-secure="40a47892f0"> <div class="wpra-call-to-action" style="color: #000000;font-size: 25px;font-weight: 600;">What Do You Think Roomies?</div> <div class="wpra-reactions wpra-static-emojis size-medium" style="border-color: #ffffff;border-width: 0px;border-radius: 50px;border-style: solid;background: #ffffff;">					<div class="emoji-8 wpra-reaction wpra-pad-fix" data-count="" data-emoji_id="8"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-10 wpra-reaction wpra-pad-fix" data-count="" data-emoji_id="10"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-4 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="4"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-5 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="5"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-2 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="2"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-7 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="7"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div><div class="emoji-12 wpra-reaction" data-count="" data-emoji_id="12"> <div class="wpra-plus-one">+1</div>	 <div style="background-color: #ff0015" class="wpra-arrow-badge arrow-bottom-left hide-count"> <span style="border-top-color: #ff0015" class="tail"></span> <span style="color: #ffffff" class="count-num">0</span> </div>	</div> </div> <div class="wpra-share-wrap wpra-share-buttons-bordered" style="">				 </div> <!-- end of share buttons -->			 </div> <!-- end of reactions container --> </div> <!-- end of reactions wrap -->		
