Racial complaint against Harvard University

Updated on: Tuesday, July 14, 2015

A complaint has been filed against Harvard University by 64 Asian-American groups, including four Indian-American organisations has been dismissed by the US Department of Education. These organisations have accused the Ivy League institution of discriminating against Asian-origin applicants in its admissions process and submitted a 50 page complaint to support the claim.

The complaints were registered when the students alleged that they have been discriminated against because of their race, and have also been unfairly treated by Harvard University during admissions. Many Asian-American students have also complained on being sidelined despite the perfect test scores and winning significant awards or leadership positions in various extracurricular activities.

The Department of Education has however, dismissed the complaint because it is similar to an ongoing and separate federal lawsuit filed against Harvard University. The decision from the Department of Justice is awaited.

The lack of a positive response from Harvard University has led to the organisations like American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, BIT Sindri Alumni Association of North India, Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin-Los Angeles Chapter and National Federation of Indian American Associations to expand their complaints.

A report from them suggests that there are lots of other Ivy League schools discriminating against Asians without their own pending discrimination lawsuits. The lawyers representing Harvard University have filed a motion to delay it until a verdict is reached in another affirmative action case that the US Supreme Court recently agreed to review a second time.

Racial complaint against Harvard University

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