War on Universities, Lawyers & Expertise

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nycfan said:
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🎁 —> https://www.wsj.com/us-news/educati...3?st=BRbwaP&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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“… In late July, Attorney General Pam Bondi warned in a memo against using “unlawful proxies” for race—such as geography or applicant essays on overcoming hardships—in admissions. Soon after, the U.S. Education Department announced it would require universities to report new data on applicants, broken down by race, to “ensure race-based preferences are not used.”

Universities have been prohibited from using racial preferences in admissions since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023. The Trump administration suggests schools may be flouting the ban, though universities say they comply.

For conservatives and the administration, the current push represents a common-sense strategy to enforce and extend the Supreme Court’s ruling. Others say this approach distorts the court decision and could depress Black student enrollment, which has already fallen at some top colleges.

“There’s an effort to say that the law is something that it’s not. There’s an effort to say that it’s illegal to seek to have a diverse student body,” said Peter McDonough, general counsel for the American Council on Education, a university lobbying group.…”
 
nycfan said:
“… In late July, Attorney General Pam Bondi warned in a memo against using “unlawful proxies” for race—such as geography or applicant essays on overcoming hardships—in admissions. Soon after, the U.S. Education Department announced it would require universities to report new data on applicants, broken down by race, to “ensure race-based preferences are not used.”

Universities have been prohibited from using racial preferences in admissions since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023. The Trump administration suggests schools may be flouting the ban, though universities say they comply.

For conservatives and the administration, the current push represents a common-sense strategy to enforce and extend the Supreme Court’s ruling. Others say this approach distorts the court decision and could depress Black student enrollment, which has already fallen at some top colleges.

“There’s an effort to say that the law is something that it’s not. There’s an effort to say that it’s illegal to seek to have a diverse student body,” said Peter McDonough, general counsel for the American Council on Education, a university lobbying group.…”
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“…Some conservatives question schools where Black enrollment didn’t fall. “I suspect a goodly percentage are using illegal proxies,” said Edward Blum, an activist who helped bring the case against affirmative action to the Supreme Court. He noted that many universities had said it would be impossible to maintain racial diversity without affirmative action. …”

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So any University that didn’t see a decline in black students accepted will be forced to defend that?

UNC data:

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nycfan said:
“…Some conservatives question schools where Black enrollment didn’t fall. “I suspect a goodly percentage are using illegal proxies,” said Edward Blum, an activist who helped bring the case against affirmative action to the Supreme Court. He noted that many universities had said it would be impossible to maintain racial diversity without affirmative action. …”

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So any University that didn’t see a decline in black students accepted will be forced to defend that?
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“…In the July Justice Department memo from Bondi, the Trump administration warned against “ostensibly neutral criteria that function as substitutes for explicit consideration of race.”

For instance, it noted that “diversity statements,” or asking applicants about “cross-cultural skills” or “obstacles they have overcome,” could be illegal if used to advantage certain races.

… The memo also said that measures to benefit low-income students can’t be targeted to “areas or populations to achieve racial or sex-based outcomes.” A DOJ spokeswoman declined to elaborate.

To some, the suggestion that race-neutral measures could be illegal if they seek to achieve racial diversity marked a striking goal-post shift from what opponents of affirmative action have previously argued.

… “Universities prohibited from engaging in racial discrimination by state law continue to enroll racially diverse classes by race-neutral means,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurrence in the affirmative-action case.

… Richard Kahlenberg testified as an expert witness in the case, arguing against traditional affirmative action on the grounds that schools can achieve racial diversity through other methods, such as through preferences for students from poor families. “The Department of Justice can’t change the law, but the fear is it could intimidate some universities,” said Kahlenberg, who works at the center-left Progressive Policy Institute.

The DOJ memo is a “very aggressive interpretation of the law,” said David Bernstein, a law professor at George Mason University….”
 
nycfan said:
“…Some conservatives question schools where Black enrollment didn’t fall. “I suspect a goodly percentage are using illegal proxies,” said Edward Blum, an activist who helped bring the case against affirmative action to the Supreme Court. He noted that many universities had said it would be impossible to maintain racial diversity without affirmative action. …”

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So any University that didn’t see a decline in black students accepted will be forced to defend that?

UNC data:

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UNC 2022 freshman class data:

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UNC 2024 Freshman Class Data:

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[The 2024 data adds up to over 100% because they don’t make a distinction for people who identify as more than one category]
 
Wait a minute...is the Right-Wing now prepared to be part of an analysis of society in these United States that employs economic class?
 
nycfan said:
UNC 2022 freshman class data:

IMG_9115.jpeg

UNC 2024 Freshman Class Data:

IMG_9116.jpeg

[The 2024 data adds up to over 100% because they don’t make a distinction for people who identify as more than one category]
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26% of Freshmen at UNC that identify as Asian/Asian American is surprising Google tells me the State is 3.3% "Asian " . Now I assume in the Blue Counties with tons of UNC students the "Asian" numbers are much higher?
 
nycfan said:
“…Some conservatives question schools where Black enrollment didn’t fall. “I suspect a goodly percentage are using illegal proxies,” said Edward Blum, an activist who helped bring the case against affirmative action to the Supreme Court. He noted that many universities had said it would be impossible to maintain racial diversity without affirmative action. …”

——
So any University that didn’t see a decline in black students accepted will be forced to defend that?

UNC data:

IMG_9114.jpeg

Click to expand...
They might as well just come out and say it: “we want less black people in college.”
 
nycfan said:
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“… Talks have also slowed in recent weeks with Cornell University and Northwestern University, although the reasons are unclear. The Trump administration targeted both schools as part of its broad assault on higher education, a campaign that the government has depicted as essential to expunging perceived liberal bias from college campuses.

… The slowdown in talks with universities is a signal that the administration is still acclimating to the departure of May Mailman, who, as the White House’s senior policy strategist, was a driving force behind Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign. She stepped back from that position last month as part of a long-planned return home to Texas.

… Mr. Trump’s enthusiasm for an agreement has been clear since June, when he posted on social media that a “mindbogglingly historic” agreement with Harvard could be finalized within days….”
 
nycfan said:
“… Talks have also slowed in recent weeks with Cornell University and Northwestern University, although the reasons are unclear. The Trump administration targeted both schools as part of its broad assault on higher education, a campaign that the government has depicted as essential to expunging perceived liberal bias from college campuses.

… The slowdown in talks with universities is a signal that the administration is still acclimating to the departure of May Mailman, who, as the White House’s senior policy strategist, was a driving force behind Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign. She stepped back from that position last month as part of a long-planned return home to Texas.

… Mr. Trump’s enthusiasm for an agreement has been clear since June, when he posted on social media that a “mindbogglingly historic” agreement with Harvard could be finalized within days….”
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“… On Wednesday, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the U.S. District Court in Boston eviscerated the administration for its targeting of Harvard, writing that the government had “used antisemitism as a smoke screen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”

In her 84-page ruling, the judge said that the government had broken the law, violating Harvard’s First Amendment rights and failing to adhere to statutes and regulations intended, in part, to guard against the misuse of federal power for political retribution.

“Although combating antisemitism is indisputably an important and worthy objective, nothing else in the administrative record supports defendants’ contention that they were primarily or even substantially motivated by that goal,” Judge Burroughs wrote.

…
Although Harvard sued to recover billions in research funding halted this year, the university’s win in court in Boston did not immediately resolve questions about when the money will be returned.

Without a deal, the ruling may also prove to have little sway over whether the administration will award Harvard new grants and contracts that have long been financial staples for large research universities. Even Judge Burroughs noted in her ruling that the court could not block government officials “from acting within their constitutional, statutory or regulatory authority.”

That calculus underscores Harvard’s interest in a settlement, which some officials had hoped to finalize before the start of the academic year to limit any uproar on campus that could follow. Classes began on Tuesday.…”
 
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