Journal Accuses Harvard Of 'Illegal' Admissions

A conservative journal published an attack yesterday on the graduate admissions policies of Harvard's Government Department, charging that the department's affirmative action practices are "probably illegal."

The cover story in the Weekly Standard, a new Washington-based weekly, accuses Harvard of "race norming" and of holding minorities to unreasonably low standards.

Across the board, University officials denied that minorities receive such special treatment.

"There is no lower threshold for minority students," said Margot N. Gill, administrative dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). "There are no target numbers and no quotas in the Government Department."

To support its arguments, the Weekly Standard article summarizes a 1993 piece in PS: Political Science and Politics written by Harvard Professor of Government Gary King.

King had served two years as chair of the department's graduate admissions committee at the time the article appeared.

King wrote that the committee first pares down the original 600 to 700 applications to a "primary list" of about 45, according to the Weekly Standard.

Then, according to the article, the committee double-checks the applications of some previously discarded minorities "to ensure that we do not miss anyone who meets these same criteria," King wrote.

Those minorities who are then deemed able to "make it through the program" are admitted, King wrote.

The Weekly Standard quotes King as writing that 200 to 300 applicants would be admitted to the program every year if affirmative action crite- ria were applied to all candidates.

According to Harvard officials, about 35 students are admitted to the program each year.

In response to an e-mail message seeking comment for this story, King referred all questions to the Harvard News Office.

The Weekly Standard article also attacks GSAS's practice of providing full financial aid to all "underrepresented" minorities, regardless of need.

The journal says the practices described by King are "dubious" under several Supreme Court rulings, including the landmark 1978 Bakke decision and the 1995 ruling in Adarand Constructors v. Pena.

The University's top attorney disputed the legal reasoning in the journal's critique.

"I don't agree with the description of the law contained in the Weekly Standard article," Vice President and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall said yesterday.

She refused to elaborate.

Officials have defended the affirmative action policies of the department. A memo from Government Department Chair Kenneth A. Shepsle, circulated yesterday in University Hall, said affirmative action is necessary to sustain the intellectual diversity of the students.

"We want a well-rounded class of entering students, because...we believe that heterogeneity in the way people define and analyze problems is intellectually stimulating to all students and faculty," Shepsle wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The Crimson.

"We do not have separate admissions processes or separate standards for minorities and non-minorities," Shepsle continued.

"Diversity is an important goal, but it is weighed along with other goals in a highly nuanced process that seeks to assemble a group reflecting appropriate balance, range and academic and professional promise."

Shepsle did not return repeated phone calls to his home and office.

One of the department's most senior faculty members disagreed with Shepsle.

Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield Jr. '53, one of the campus's most outspoken critics of affirmative action, hailed the Weekly Standard article as quite accurate."

"As a department for graduate students, we're not in the business of making a community," Mansfield said yesterday. "We're just trying to find the best political scientists to teach political science."

Asked if the perspective minorities enjoy contributes to the intellectual diversity of the department, Mansfield said, "There's something to that, but it presupport that minorities all think the same. That's quite a weak argument for professional graduate education."

The Weekly Standard is backed by multinational media financier Rupert Murdoch and is edited by William Kristol, former chief of staff for former vice president Dan Quatle. It was launched last month

According to Harvard officials, about 35 students are admitted to the program each year.

In response to an e-mail message seeking comment for this story, King referred all questions to the Harvard News Office.

The Weekly Standard article also attacks GSAS's practice of providing full financial aid to all "underrepresented" minorities, regardless of need.

The journal says the practices described by King are "dubious" under several Supreme Court rulings, including the landmark 1978 Bakke decision and the 1995 ruling in Adarand Constructors v. Pena.

The University's top attorney disputed the legal reasoning in the journal's critique.

"I don't agree with the description of the law contained in the Weekly Standard article," Vice President and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall said yesterday.

She refused to elaborate.

Officials have defended the affirmative action policies of the department. A memo from Government Department Chair Kenneth A. Shepsle, circulated yesterday in University Hall, said affirmative action is necessary to sustain the intellectual diversity of the students.

"We want a well-rounded class of entering students, because...we believe that heterogeneity in the way people define and analyze problems is intellectually stimulating to all students and faculty," Shepsle wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The Crimson.

"We do not have separate admissions processes or separate standards for minorities and non-minorities," Shepsle continued.

"Diversity is an important goal, but it is weighed along with other goals in a highly nuanced process that seeks to assemble a group reflecting appropriate balance, range and academic and professional promise."

Shepsle did not return repeated phone calls to his home and office.

One of the department's most senior faculty members disagreed with Shepsle.

Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield Jr. '53, one of the campus's most outspoken critics of affirmative action, hailed the Weekly Standard article as quite accurate."

"As a department for graduate students, we're not in the business of making a community," Mansfield said yesterday. "We're just trying to find the best political scientists to teach political science."

Asked if the perspective minorities enjoy contributes to the intellectual diversity of the department, Mansfield said, "There's something to that, but it presupport that minorities all think the same. That's quite a weak argument for professional graduate education."

The Weekly Standard is backed by multinational media financier Rupert Murdoch and is edited by William Kristol, former chief of staff for former vice president Dan Quatle. It was launched last month