Civil Rights advocates in Washington D.C. are speaking out against a lawsuit filed last week. The suit claims Yale discriminates against white and Asian applicants in its admissions policy.
Genevieve Bonadies-Torres is counsel at the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. That’s a group founded by President John F. Kennedy to combat laws that discriminate against people of color.
“It’s frustrating and telling that these cases are being brought at a time that our country’s recognizing the racial inequalities that are embedded into our systems and these lawsuits are a transparent attempt to roll back the progress that we have made,” Bonadies-Torres said.
Bonadies-Torres said the group that filed the lawsuit is doing so because the Department of Justice withdrew a similar lawsuit last month.
“Students for Fair Admissions is backed by Ed Blum, and he’s made it his life’s work to roll back civil rights in voting rights and in education. It’s a very transparent attempt to pick up the pieces where the DOJ realized there was no facts, no support for challenging lawful policies at Yale,” Bonadies-Torres said.
Ed Blum declined to comment. In a press release, he accused Yale of using racial quotas in its admissions process.
Yale President Peter Salovey said in a statement after the DOJ dropped its lawsuit that the department is resuming it’s review of the admissions process for compliance.