{"id":68808,"date":"2023-06-29T00:05:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T04:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=68808"},"modified":"2023-06-29T00:05:52","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T04:05:52","slug":"positive-discrimination-at-harvard-the-end-of-a-contested-conception-of-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/positive-discrimination-at-harvard-the-end-of-a-contested-conception-of-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive discrimination at Harvard: the end of a contested conception of justice?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, an\u00a0<\/span>NGO <\/span><\/a>\u00a0attacked the universities of North Carolina and Harvard<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, accusing them of discriminating against Asian students in favor of white students through “affirmative action” practices supposed to promote ethno-racial diversity.\u00a0After several years of proceedings, the Supreme Court of the United States must finally render its decision in June 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

This decision will be imposed on all the universities which practice this positive discrimination set up in the 1960s in reaction to the exclusion from which black Americans had suffered.\u00a0This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has had to rule on its legality.\u00a0In previous decisions, it had notably\u00a0<\/span>prohibited quotas<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<\/span>automatic additional point systems according to race<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

The court had explained, in 2013 and again in 2016, that universities should look for\u00a0<\/span>other ways to diversify<\/span><\/a>\u00a0their promotions, that is to say racially neutral.\u00a0But as long as race is not\u00a0<\/span>the only criterion of choice<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, the Supreme Court has until now accepted positive discrimination.\u00a0It is considered that the appointment of several conservative judges by Donald Trump to the Supreme Court could tip the scales in favor of opponents of \u201c\u00a0<\/span>affirmative action\u201d<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

This important decision will also impact business practices.\u00a0The challenge is to turn the page on positive discrimination policies that have a negative impact on certain ethno-racial minorities.\u00a0This can only be done by tackling discrimination based on social origin with racially neutral policies.\u00a0The example of Harvard is in this respect crucial for understanding the\u00a0<\/span>limits<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of the policies implemented so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

The biases of subjective personality assessments<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In its defense, Harvard was forced to disclose unpublished data on its recruitments.\u00a0Never have so many details about the reality of student selection been available.\u00a0What the data transmitted show is that not only Asian students would be victims of discrimination (Harvard denies this) but above all that the recruitment procedure would favor the children of the rich to the detriment of the others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside positive discrimination for the benefit of blacks and Hispanics, which Harvard recognizes, discrimination on the grounds of social origin, discreet and wide-ranging, would persist.\u00a0This is detailed by an economist from Duke University, Peter Arcidiacono, who has exploited the mass of information concerning\u00a0<\/span>all Harvard recruitments over several years<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, at Harvard as in other universities, it appears that Asian applicants are disadvantaged\u00a0<\/span>although their academic scores are significantly better<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0To explain this phenomenon, Harvard notes that the selection of students is based on other criteria, more\u00a0<\/span>personal or extracurricular<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0There are letters of recommendation, involvement in community life and above all the \u201cpersonal rating\u201d.\u00a0The grade is awarded on the basis of an essay written by the candidate, an interview with a former student, the opinion of a member of staff who has sometimes met the candidates during a visit to the campus, reports from his teachers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harvard does not give a precise definition of this criterion.\u00a0The evaluation of personal qualities gives rise to judgments of the supposed personality of the candidates which are found pell-mell in the documents of the university: “integrity, benevolence, courage, kindness, helpfulness, resilience, empathy, self-confidence, leadership skills, maturity, perseverance\u201d.\u00a0What is certain, however, is that this \u201cpersonal rating\u201d is decisive for admission (80% of those admitted have 1 or 2 on a scale of 5) and, curiously, Asian students are poorly judged on this criterion.<\/span>
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