A shift from family ties in college admissions
In last month鈥檚 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against race-conscious college admissions, justices on both sides also took a swipe at preferences given to the relatives of school alumni. These legacy admissions, wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch, 鈥渦ndoubtedly benefit white and wealthy applicants the most.鈥� Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said they help 鈥渄isfavor underrepresented racial minorities.鈥� Soon after, President Joe Biden asked the Education Department to investigate 鈥減ractices like聽legacy聽admissions ... that expand privilege instead of opportunity.鈥�
Then on Wednesday, just weeks after the ruling, two prominent schools 鈥� Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the University of Minnesota鈥檚 Twin Cities campus 鈥� announced they would end preferences based on bloodlines. Their actions hint at similar moves to come among schools 鈥� mainly elite private ones in the East 鈥� that still rely on the gene pool as much as the talent pool to select entrants.
An applicant鈥檚 connections to alumni 鈥渋ndicates little about that applicant鈥檚 ability to succeed at the University,鈥� said Wesleyan President Michael Roth in a statement. If other schools take similar steps, he told The Boston Globe, 鈥渨e have a better chance of restoring some of the trust and confidence [in higher education] we鈥檝e lost from the public here in the United States.鈥�
At the University of Minnesota, the director of student government and legislative affairs, Carter Yost, told Minnesota Public Radio, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a democratic society, and we try and avoid nepotism to the extent that we can.鈥� Legacy admissions, he added, were an 鈥渦nfair leg-up, that had nothing to do with merit, or someone鈥檚 experiences.鈥�
In recent years, a few dozen schools have taken this step, long before the court ruling, such as Johns Hopkins University and Amherst College. Some states ban the practice in government-supported universities. 鈥淵ou win a privilege lottery from birth,鈥� Massachusetts state Sen. Lydia Edwards, a sponsor for a bill that would outlaw legacy admissions in that state, told the Globe. 鈥淭hat is insulting for those of us who are first-generation students trying to get into college.鈥�
In any organization, nepotistic privilege and other family-related favoritism are often a way to pass down power by lineage. Such practices, even by appearance, demote merit and integrity as qualifications. 鈥淧ower is never a good, unless he be good that has it,鈥� said King Alfred the Great. And he might have added, one鈥檚 future in higher education should not depend on one鈥檚 genetic heritage but on one鈥檚 unique ability to excel in learning.
