The Department of Justice is accusing Yale University of discriminating against Asian-American and White applicants, NPR reports.
The DOJ told university officials about its findings, which come after a two-year investigation in response to a complaint by a coalition of Asian-American groups, according to the report.
“The Department of Justice found Yale discriminates based on race and national origin in its undergraduate admissions process and that race is the determinative factor in hundreds of admissions decisions each year,” the DOJ claimed.
The DOJ claimed that it found that “for the great majority of applicants,” Asian-American and White applicants had 1/10 to one fourth of a chance of admission as African-American applicants with similar academic accomplishments.
According to the report, the DOJ accuses Yale of factoring in race throughout several parts of the admissions process, thus exponentially increasing the effect race has on an applicant’s chance of admission. The DOJ also noted that the university racially balances its classes.
For Yale’s part, it appears as if the DOJ, in its determination, had not considered all the information necessary before making judgments.
Yale responded to the accusations expressing its dismay that “the DOJ has made its determination before allowing Yale to provide all the information the department has requested thus far,” according to a spokesperson.
“Had the Department fully received and fairly weighed this information, it would have concluded that Yale’s practices absolutely comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent,” the spokesperson added.
The school outright denied the allegation, noting in a statement that “we take into consideration a multitude of factors, including their academic achievement, interests, demonstrated leadership, background, success in taking maximum advantage of their secondary school and community resources, and the likelihood that they will contribute to the Yale community and the world.”