Selective colleges have a lot of minority alumni after half a century of affirmative action.
The Claudine Gay saga at Harvard might be yesterday’s news, but critics aren’t through beating up on higher education, or even beating up on Harvard.
Last summer the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation of Harvard’s legacy admissions, which grant preferential treatment to relatives of alumni and large donors. Last month the department revealed that it’s investigating similar practices at the University of Pennsylvania.
Federal legislation introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit federal funds from going to colleges and universities that give legacy applicants a leg up. President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona have signaled support for such a move, but it isn’t clear that federal action is necessary.
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Jason L. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a Fox News commentator. Follow him on Twitter here.
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