For Immediate Release
August 14, 2020
Livingston, New Jersey: On August 13th, 2020, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Yale University violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by discriminating against Asian-American and white applicants. The Justice Department’s decision was made in response to a civil rights compliant launched by the Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) in May 2016, on behalf of 132 Asian-American organizations. AACE welcomes the Federal Government’s concrete actions to safeguard equal education rights for all American students, regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.
In AACE’s May 2016 administrative complaint, we have shown compelling evidence that Yale and other selective U.S. colleges have applied de facto racial quotas, racial stereotypes and higher admissions standards to discriminate against Asian American applicants. On September 26th, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) notified AACE that it launched an investigation into Yale University’s discriminatory admissions practices against Asian-American applicants, along with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (CRD). This investigation reveals that Yale University illegally applies the race factor in multiple steps of its admissions process. It concludes that Asian-American and white students have “only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admissions as African American applicants with comparable academic credentials.”
DOJ’s finding signifies a major milestone in the Asian-American community’s courageous fight to defend the American creed of equality and meritocracy. Since it receives millions of dollars in federal taxpayer funding, Yale is demanded by the Justice Department to refrain from using race or national origin in its 2020-2021 admissions cycle. Going forward, Yale must submit a plan that demonstrates it strictly observes all federal laws and the principle of narrow tailoring in its admissions program. Yale must also identify a date to end racial discrimination.
AACE President Mr. Yukong Zhao said: “All American children should be judged by their merits and the content of their character, not the color of their skin! We are grateful that the Federal Government has taken additional actions to safeguard equal education rights, especially the equal rights of Asian-American children who have been long scapegoated by racial preferences in education. Politicians who have instituted failing policies in too many black and Hispanic communities, not hardworking Asian-American children, should be blamed for the persistent racial achievement gaps. We will continue to monitor Yale University, other selective U.S. colleges and school districts across the country against blatant discrimination against Asian-American children!
MEDIA CONTACT:
Dr. Wenyuan Wu, telephone: (786) 393-8028, email: [email protected].
Ms. Swann Lee, telephone: (617) 651-1328, email: [email protected].
About the AACE: www.asianamericanforeducation.org
Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) is a non-political, nonprofit, grassroots national organization, the proven leader in fighting for Asian-American children’s equal educational rights. On May 15, 2015, the founders of AACE united 64 Asian-American organizations and jointly filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to request that they conduct investigations into Harvard University’s discriminatory admissions practices against Asian-American applicants. As the largest joint action taken by Asian-American communities over the last few decades, this complaint is now being investigated by the Justice Department. Over the years, we have advanced the cause of equal education rights for the Asian-American community.