Dole Urges Review Of Legacy Policies

Saying that college admissions preferences for children of alumni enforce a "caste system" in higher education, Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole (R-Kansas) last month asked the U.S. Department of Education to review the propriety of such policies.

Citing a recently-concluded federal review of Harvard's admissions practices, Dole argued that legacy "tips" by private universities unfairly benefit upper-income students.

"Now is the time to take the next logical step on the fairness front. The last thing we need in American education is a caste system," Dole said in a prepared statement. "These alumni perks have absolutely nothing to do with an individual's qualifications or merit."

A reexamination of the issue could lead the Department of Education to determine that legacy preferences are not consistent with federal law or to suggest legislation to stop the practice, according to Dole aide Dennis C. Shea '83-'86.

The letter, dated December 18, 1990, was addressed to Secretary of Education nominee Lamar Alexander. An aide for Alexander said the nominee would have no comment on Dole's request until after Alexander's confirmation hearings, which have not been scheduled yet.

In an October ruling, the Department of Education found that Harvard does not discriminate against Asian-Americans in the admissions process. The review determined that lower acceptance rates for Asian-Americans could be explained by two admissions policies which it found legal and appropriate: preference for legacies and recruited athletes.

Although Dole did not dispute the legal basis for this conclusion, he said he was examining the issue from his position as a policy-maker.

"If non-merit-based criteria like the legacy preference are used to determine who gets access to the best educations in this country, then the very assumptions undergirding our society are called into question," he wrote in the letter. SET

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 and other Harvard officials have consistently defended legacy preferences because of the significant role alumni play in donations, recruitment and university administration.

Fitzsimmons could not be reached yesterday to comment on Dole's letter.

Dole wrote that although he understands the perceived link between a university's economic interests and admissions preference for alumni children, he worries that "this linkage serves only to discourage the aspirations of those students who are not fortunate enough to come from privileged backgrounds."

Dole said that an ongoing review by the Education Department on the legality of scholarships specifically targeted for members of ethnic minority groups provided a good opportunity to look at legacy policy.

An Education Department official last month ruled that race-based college scholarships were illegal, but the Bush Administration quickly watered down the decision in the wake of protests by educators and minority leaders.

"If we are serious about a national reexamination of preferential policies in employment and education, then we have an obligation to be both fair and consistent in our approach," Dole said.

Although Dole will not participate in the confirmation hearings, he will probably raise the legacy preferences issue when Alexander meets with him before the hearings, Shea said.

Harvard's admissions policies have received increasing scrutiny on campus thisfall in the wake of the Education Department'sreview. The department found that admissionspreferences for legacies and recruited athleteswere more significant than Harvard had previouslyacknowledged