BOSTON (AP) — Opening a new front in legal battles over college admissions, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s policies on legacy admissions.

Top colleges’ preferential treatment of children of alumni, who are often white, has faced mounting scrutiny since the Supreme Court last month struck down the use of affirmative action as a tool to boost the presence of students of color.

The department notified Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston, on Monday that it was investigating the group’s claim that alleges the university “discriminates on the basis of race by using donor and legacy preferences in its undergraduate admissions process.”

An Education Department spokesperson confirmed its Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation at Harvard. The agency declined further comment.

The complaint was filed earlier this month on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England. The group argued that students with legacy ties are up to seven times more likely to be admitted to Harvard, can make up nearly a third of a class and that about 70% are white. For the Class of 2019, about 28% of the class were legacies with a parent or other relative who went to Harvard.

“Qualified and highly deserving applicants of color are harmed as a result, as admissions slots are given instead to the overwhelmingly white applicants who benefit from Harvard’s legacy and donor preferences,” the group said in a statement. “Even worse, this preferential treatment has nothing to do with an applicant’s merit. Instead, it is an unfair and unearned benefit that is conferred solely based on the family that the applicant is born into.”

A spokesperson for Harvard on Tuesday said the university has been reviewing its admissions policies to ensure compliance with the law since the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.

“As this work continues, and moving forward, Harvard remains dedicated to opening doors to opportunity and to redoubling our efforts to encourage students from many different backgrounds to apply for admission,” the spokesperson said.

Ending legacy preferences is “one of many steps that Harvard and other universities can take to increase access, diversity, and equity in admissions,” said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, which includes alumni, student and staff.

Last week, Wesleyan University in Connecticut announced that it would end its policy of giving preferential treatment in admissions to those whose families have historical ties to the school. Wesleyan President Michael Roth said a student’s “legacy status” has played a negligible role in admissions, but would now be eliminated entirely.

In recent years, schools including Amherst College in Massachusetts, Carnegie Melon University in Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland also have eliminated legacy admissions.

Legacy policies have been called into question after last month’s Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action and any consideration of race in college admissions. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years, forcing institutions of higher education to seek new ways to achieve student diversity.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said he commended the Education Department for taking steps to ensure the higher education system “works for every American, not just a privileged few.”

“Every talented and qualified student deserves an opportunity to attend the college of their choice. Affirmative Action existed to support that notion. Legacy admissions exists to undermine it,” he said.

A study led by Harvard and Brown researchers, published Monday, found that wealthy students were twice as likely to be admitted to elite schools compared to their lower- or middle-income counterparts who have similar standardized test scores.

The study looked at family income and admissions data at the Ivy League and Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago, found that legacy admissions policies were a contributing factor to the advantage high-income students have at these schools. Athletic recruitment and extracurricular credentials, which are stronger when students attend affluent private high schools, were the other two factors.

___

Associated Press reporters Annie Ma and Gary Fields contributed from Washington, D.C.

The post Education Department opens investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

The world’s largest historically Black college and university (HBCU) homecoming is returning to New York with a series of events, including a football game at MetLife Stadium, and an after-party headlined by DJ Envy on September 16th.

Raashaun Casey, popularly known as DJ Envy, is the co-host of the syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” with Charlamagne Tha God. He will be headlining the after-party of the HBCU New York Classic, which will take place at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the second-largest mall in the country.

Casey, the Queens native and Hampton University alum, said he is glad to have attended an HBCU and wants to bring the southern HBCU spirit to his hometown.

“Let’s bring the HBCU atmosphere to New York (since) a lot of these students and people in the area don’t get to see it,” Casey said. “People in the south see HBCUs all day. They see the effects of the Morehouses, Spelmans, Clarks, FAMUs, and North Carolina A&Ts.But we don’t get to see that in New York, … we don’t get this experience of an HBCU. And with this classic, a lot of students and a lot of people who may not have seen (this atmosphere) before will get to really, really enjoy it and see it.”

The after-party for the Classic will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the genre of music that shaped Casey’s career. He said applying the skills he learned from his business management and marketing degree and coupling that with his passion for music led him to a fulfilling and fruitful career.

“As an iconic figure in the New York hip-hop scene, DJ Envy is the perfect person to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and cap a full day of HBCU football and culture with style,” said Albert Williams, the HBCU New York Classic CEO. 

Williams said the event will be the largest HBCU homecoming ever since all HBCU alums, future students, and football fans alike are invited and encouraged to come to the game and the events leading up to the Classic.

The events will begin on Tuesday, September 12, with a breakfast featuring New York City Mayor Eric Adams at Sylvia’s in Harlem. The week will host two high school education days in Newark, New Jersey, and Manhattan, NY.

The events will also include an HBCU-inspired debate at The Apollo, a career expo, a step show, and a pep rally before the main event of the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers against the Albany State University Golden Rams and the after-party.

Williams stressed the importance of these educational events and awareness of HBCU schools in the Northeast. He said he did not know about the existence of predominantly-Black institutions until after he graduated high school and attended St. John’s University for some years.

Williams and Casey hope to share the knowledge and power that HBCUs hold and encourage more young Black people to attend these universities.

“We did have a young man last year that decided he wasn’t going to college.. He spoke to our  lady that runs our career fair. And lo and behold, he applied to (approximately) six schools, four of them were HBCUs, and he decided to go to Morehouse,” Williams said. “If you reach one mission accomplished, we want to reach many.”

Williams said the organization expanded its events compared to last year due to increased funding and awareness of the Classic. He said the sponsorships from Google, Walmart, and other large companies show a valuable investment of time and money into Black communities.

In terms of the game’s outcome, Williams said he thinks the scoreline will be interesting, regardless of which team wins. Morehouse is coming in with a  lessthan-favorable record after their (1-9) overall record last season. The team was also held scoreless in the previous year’s inaugural game against Howard University, losing 31-0. Conversely, Albany State is coming off a 7-3 record last season and has dominated Morehouse over the past decade, winning 11 games straight since 2010 over Morehouse.

The post DJ Envy set to headline HBCU New York Classic after-party appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here