Camille G. Caldera and Sahar M. Mohammadzadeh (Harvard Crimson)
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund argued that Harvard’s race-conscious admissions process is “necessary to reap the educational benefits of diversity” in a document filed in federal court Wednesday.
The filing — submitted months after a trial in the case wrapped up — marks the latest development in a lawsuit that has lasted years and could determine the fate of affirmative action at private colleges and universities around the country. Plaintiff Students for Fair Admissions originally filed suit against Harvard in 2014, arguing the College’s admissions protocols discriminate against Asian-American applicants.
LDF represents 25 Harvard student and alumni organizations comprising thousands of Asian-American, black, Latinx, Native-American, and white students and alumni as amici curiae — friends of the court — in the lawsuit. The amicus brief offers evidence to support the claim that the College’s race-conscious admissions process safeguards diversity on campus, an argument also made by lawyers representing Harvard during the trial. Read the original article.
