Feds Investigating Bias in Admissions

The Federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is investigating a complaint that Harvard's undergraduate admissions policies discriminate against white male applicants.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Crimson under the Freedom of Information Act, was filed in April 1993 by the parent of a white male student from Birmingham, Alabama who was denied admission to Harvard that month.

The complaint charges that Harvard admitted, and gave special treatment to, a Black female student from the same high school who was less qualified academically than was the white student.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 yesterday denied that Harvard's recruitment policies constitute unlawful discrimination. He declined to comment on the specifics of the complaint, however, because of the ongoing investigation.

Education Department officials declined comment, other than to say that the matter is under investigation.

The complaint charges that the Black woman candidate had lower SAT scores than did the white student. The white student had taken calculus, while the Black student had taken pre-calculus and other less strenuous classes, according to the complaint.

The white student had also expressed an early interest in Harvard, while the Black student did not meet Harvard's test-taking deadlines, the complaint said.

The complaint also charges that the Black woman student received word of her acceptance in early March, while the white student was rejected in April.

Harvard officials said that "a handful" of the strongest applicants are notified between January and March that their admission is likely, but that these "likely" letters are mailed without regard to race and that they do not constitute a formal offer of admission.

"This is racism, not merit," the complaining parent alleges. She writes that the same week that her son was rejected, he was writing a paper on first Black woman to be admitted to University of Alabama.

"Some thirty years later I'm seeing that same injustice reversed to my son, who is white, male and from the South. Now he is a victim of discrimination...Schools are for teaching, not for filling quotas," the mother of the white student wrote.

The student's name was not released by the Department of Education, and could not be immediately determined from high school records.

The complaint cites an article in the February 28, 1993 New York Times which reported on increasing competition among selective colleges to attract a small pool of potential Black students.

The complainant calls the article "revealing."

"I was appalled and disgusted at what I read," the parent of the white student wrote.

Harvard officials have said that The New York Times mischaracterized University policy with respect to extending application deadlines. Application deadlines are equally flexible to all students without respect to race, Harvard officials said.

The complaint describes a reception for prospective Harvard students held at the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham in early December 1992. "A 'neutral' atmosphere would have been more appropriate for following non-discriminatory rules," the complaint said.

Fitzsimmons said that civil rights are important to Harvard, and that receptions are held wherever area alumni chose to hold them.

The dean said Harvard is complying with the requests of the federal investigators, but would not say if the University has turned the applications or files of the two students in question over to the federal government.

The Harvard admissions process takes into account academic, extracurricular and personal credentials, Fitzsimmons said, because some 80 percent of those who apply are considered academically qualified to attend Harvard.

"All of the people who come here are fully qualified to be here," Fitzsimmons said. "We want people to understand that while ethnic background can be one factor that we use...we look at all factors."

Fitzsimmons said it is necessary to aggressively recruit students in a wide variety of areas in order to arrive at a talented and diverse class.

The admissions office has weathered several other federal investigations in recent years.

In the spring of 1991, it agreed to stop engaging in price-fixing with the other Ivy League schools following a Justice Department lawsuit. The office was cleared in fall 1990 of charges that it illegally discriminates against Asian-American applicants

"This is racism, not merit," the complaining parent alleges. She writes that the same week that her son was rejected, he was writing a paper on first Black woman to be admitted to University of Alabama.

"Some thirty years later I'm seeing that same injustice reversed to my son, who is white, male and from the South. Now he is a victim of discrimination...Schools are for teaching, not for filling quotas," the mother of the white student wrote.

The student's name was not released by the Department of Education, and could not be immediately determined from high school records.

The complaint cites an article in the February 28, 1993 New York Times which reported on increasing competition among selective colleges to attract a small pool of potential Black students.

The complainant calls the article "revealing."

"I was appalled and disgusted at what I read," the parent of the white student wrote.

Harvard officials have said that The New York Times mischaracterized University policy with respect to extending application deadlines. Application deadlines are equally flexible to all students without respect to race, Harvard officials said.

The complaint describes a reception for prospective Harvard students held at the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham in early December 1992. "A 'neutral' atmosphere would have been more appropriate for following non-discriminatory rules," the complaint said.

Fitzsimmons said that civil rights are important to Harvard, and that receptions are held wherever area alumni chose to hold them.

The dean said Harvard is complying with the requests of the federal investigators, but would not say if the University has turned the applications or files of the two students in question over to the federal government.

The Harvard admissions process takes into account academic, extracurricular and personal credentials, Fitzsimmons said, because some 80 percent of those who apply are considered academically qualified to attend Harvard.

"All of the people who come here are fully qualified to be here," Fitzsimmons said. "We want people to understand that while ethnic background can be one factor that we use...we look at all factors."

Fitzsimmons said it is necessary to aggressively recruit students in a wide variety of areas in order to arrive at a talented and diverse class.

The admissions office has weathered several other federal investigations in recent years.

In the spring of 1991, it agreed to stop engaging in price-fixing with the other Ivy League schools following a Justice Department lawsuit. The office was cleared in fall 1990 of charges that it illegally discriminates against Asian-American applicants