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Kai Nedden, laif, Redux
Harvard admissions officials defended their case on the fourth day of a lawsuit in which the university was accused of discriminating against US applicants of Asian descent.
HArvard's students have not yet testified during the trial to challenge the university's admission policies, but their personal stories and claims were invoked Thursday by both parties in federal court. William R. Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions at Harvard, spent his fourth day at the helm trying to refute allegations that his office discriminated against Asian-American claimants.
The case against Harvard was filed by Students for Fair Admissions, a membership organization founded by Edward J. Blum, a conservative activist. The group says it represents students who, despite their outstanding academic achievements, were denied admission to Harvard because of their race.
On the morning of the fourth day of the trial, Fitzsimmons completed his testimony by explaining in detail how intake officers view the applications. In the afternoon, the lawyers for Students for Fair Admissions attempted to sow doubt on the testimony of two other admissions officers by showing that their assertions on Thursday contradicted what they had said in their depositions last year.
Harvard vehemently denied the assertion of discrimination against Americans of Asian descent, claiming that he considers the "whole person" in all his decisions regarding admission. In an attempt to prove it, the university's lawyer, William F. Lee, presented Thursday to Fitzsimmons the applications of two students.
One of them emerged as a kind of poster for Harvard at the trial: Thang Diep. He is an elder who emigrated from Vietnam to the United States at the age of 8 years. Diep was mentioned in Lee's opening statement and is expected to testify towards the end of the trial, along with several other students and alumni who asked to share their experiences as Harvard students of color.
Diep earned 2090 at SAT, a rating that, according to Fitzsimmons, would put him in the middle of the typical group of candidates. Diep's personal essay and letters of reference described him as a candidate who had a hard time learning English and who did not care about his accent, but who worked very hard to improve it. He graduated 4.3 GPA at the top of his high school class.
"How could your heart not go to that person?" Said Fitzsimmons.
"Calm and strong"
Fitzsimmons was also questioned about another applicant whose name had been redacted. She was in a ballet troupe and, although her high school did not offer chemistry and biology classes for Advanced Placement, she herself studied for AP exams and achieved the best results. She spoke Spanish, wrote eloquently about her father's disability and volunteered at a research laboratory. One recommendation described it as "thoughtful and focused. Never anxious, but still trying to achieve his goals. "
Fitzsimmons said he was impressed.
Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the Federal District Court, appointed by Barack Obama in 2014, asked whether the claims of non-Harvard-admitted plaintiffs would be brought to trial. Lee replied that they would not be.
John M. Hughes, a lawyer for Students for Fair Admissions, also asked Fitzsimmons about the student applications. He returned to a report published in 1990 by the Civil Rights Bureau of the Department of Education that had uncovered cases in which Harvard admissions officers had used stereotypical language to describe US candidates. of Asian origin. and hard workers. "(The federal agency concluded that Harvard did not discriminate against US applicants of Asian origin.)
Hughes then showed Fitzsimmons the nominations of two American-Asian students on a waiting list. Fitzsimmons wrote on a "very quiet" and "loud and quiet" app.
Later, during Lee's interrogation, Fitzsimmons said he had described candidates of all races as being "discreet" at one time or another. He also described American candidates of Asian origin as outgoing candidates, he said. Lee pointed out that stereotypes mean the use of phrases to characterize an entire ethnic group.
"Was that what you were doing?" He asked Fitzsimmons. The dean replied, "No."
24 hours with lawyers
In the afternoon, the atmosphere in the audience room became much more combative while Adam K. Mortara, another lawyer for Students for Fair Admissions, interviewed Christopher Looby , a senior admissions officer who has been working at Harvard for 10 years.
Looby said that when he started, other admissions officers explained to him how to use the race in the process. But Mortara pointed out parts of his testimony from June 2017, when Looby was questioned about it and replied, "Not that I remember."
Mortara also asked Looby whether or not he thought of race in the admission decisions, an exchange that seemed to confuse Looby. He repeated many times that he considered race as one factor among others. But when asked if the breed was part of someone's identity, he replied, "I do not think so."
Looby spent 24 hours a day or 10 days preparing for his testimony with Harvard lawyers, he said.
Erica Bever, another admissions officer, spoke at the end of the day. Previously, Bever worked at the University's Institutional Research Office and participated in the 2013 analysis of what "tips" help students to gain admission.
Bever was shown an email that she had sent to Fitzsimmons in 2013 and that was written, "Even though we find that low-income students clearly receive a tip during the intake process, our model shows Also tip for bigger ones. On the other hand, we find a negative effect of being (Asian), these realities have also been the subject of close scrutiny on the part of critics. "
Bever will continue to testify on Friday.
Nell Gluckman writes on issues relating to faculty and other subjects in higher education. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email him at [email protected].
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