Yale, Princeton And Duke Threatened With Lawsuit Over Decline In Asian American Students By Same Group That Won Effort To End Affirmative Action

Students for Fair Admissions — the group that sued and won against Harvard to end affirmative action across the U.S. — is threatening another lawsuit against schools for not complying with the Supreme Court ’s ruling.

On Sept. 17, S.F.F.A. sent letters to Princeton, Yale and Duke. The letters were signed by Students for Fair Admissions President Edward Blum

“Based on S.F.F.A.’s extensive experience, your racial numbers are not possible under true neutrality,” the letters read, The New York Times reported. “You are now on notice. Preserve all potentially relevant documents and communications.”

S.F.F.A. said a drop in the enrollment of Asian American students since last year went against expectations. The drop in enrollment for Asian Americans is as follows:

• 35% to 29% at Duke
• 30% to 24% at Yale
• 26% to 23.8% at Princeton

Enrollment of Black students remained mostly the same.

“I think the fight is now going to move away from policies to what is happening in admissions offices,” Cornell law professor William Jacobson, who is also the founder of the Equal Protection Project, a nonprofit organization that has challenged diversity, equity and inclusion programs, told the New York Times.

Some experts argue that it’s too early to know if these numbers represent a larger trend after universities stopped affirmative action.

“It’s disappointing to see the same old intimidation tactics that Blum is using here to scare universities away from doing what they can to ensure that high-quality, talented students are given a shot,” OiYan Poon, a researcher of college admissions systems, told The Times.

Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, admission officers at colleges and universities have not been able to view the sections where applicants identify their race or ethnicity until after the enrollment process has been completed. Still, students have been able to share experiences tied to their racial background in their admissions essays.

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