Jack, legacy admissions, the practice of giving preferential treatment to college applicants related to alums of the university, has been a longstanding tradition. But this outdated and elitist practice only perpetuates inequality and undermines the principles of meritocracy.

Sign the petition: End legacy admissions to elite colleges!

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A recent lawsuit filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) on behalf of multiple Black and Latinx community groups alleges that legacy admissions at Harvard University violate the Civil Rights Act. Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of affirmative action last week, evidence showed that donor-related applicants to Harvard University were nearly 7x more likely to be admitted than non-donor-related applicants and that legacy candidates were more than 6x more likely to be accepted. Almost 70% of Harvard donor-related and legacy applicants are white.

As Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, LCR's executive director, rightly questioned, "Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations? Your family's last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit and should have no bearing on the college admissions process."

Several colleges and universities, including all higher education institutions in Colorado; the University of California; Johns Hopkins University; and Amherst College, have already abandoned the practice of prioritizing donor-related and legacy applicants after finding the practice unfair. It is time for all universities to follow suit.

Let us work together to end legacy admissions and create a more equitable and inclusive higher education system.

Sign the petition: End legacy admissions to elite colleges!

SIGN THE PETITION
Thanks for all you do,
Mayra Souza, Daily Kos

P.S. Below is an email we sent out earlier demanding an end to legacy admissions:

Jack, sign the petition to Congress: End legacy admissions to elite colleges.

Sign the petition
A right-wing majority of the U.S Supreme Court has struck down affirmative action in college admissions, ending decades of expanded access to higher education for students of color.

But elite universities can and will continue to offer preferential treatment in their admissions to the children of alumni and donors. Legacy preferences effectively exacerbate discriminatory admissions practices by giving wealthy white students and families even more leverage.

One study revealed that legacy status was comparable in value to a 160-point gain on the SATs. At Harvard, 43% of white students from 2009 to 2014 were legacy admits or athletes. A study found only about a quarter of those students would have otherwise been accepted.

Sign the petition to Congress: Pass the Fair College Admissions for Students Act to prohibit universities from giving special treatment to legacy applicants.

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As universities continue to seek more diverse student bodies, legacy preferences do more to hurt students of color and low-income students. Legacy preferences are, and have always been, rooted in racism and work to exclude Black students and other students of color from educational opportunities, thereby amplifying racial bias in education. ?

In her dissenting opinion, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote: "the Court cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter. The Court subverts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by further entrenching racial inequality in education."

We must take action now to fight racial inequality in higher education.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) will reintroduce the Fair College Admissions for Students Act to stop universities from giving preferential treatment to children of alumni and donors and help ensure equity in the admissions process. The bill was first introduced in 2022, but now has an added level of urgency with the Supreme Court ruling.

Sign the petition: End legacy admissions to elite colleges.

Sign the petition
Keep fighting,
Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos