In July 2023, the Supreme Court ruled to dismantle affirmative action but did not reference legacy admissions, which gives admissions priority to the children of alumni. The decision disproportionately and negatively impacts Black students, while legacy admissions continue to benefit mostly white students. Now, one group is fighting back.
Legacy admissions have existed in some capacity since the early 1900s at Ivy League schools in response to the rising immigrant population. Though it initially sought to keep out Jews from Eastern Europe, they quickly became a way to bar Black students. But these admission standards went even further.
Until the 1960s, legacy admissions guaranteed spots in top institutions for white men who got to bypass the application process all together. When affirmative action became ratified in the 1970s, institutions used legacy admissions to appease alumni who didn’t want their children to get rejected by elite institutions.
Those practices have had a profound effect on inequality. Today, 70% of donor-related legacy applicants at Harvard University are white, and they are six times more likely to be granted admission. Now, those impacted most by the repeal of affirmative action are fighting back.
Just one week after the decision was announced, three community-led advocacy groups filed a lawsuit calling out the preferential treatment among legacy admissions. This bold move goes to show that when the government, the police, or anyone else comes for us, we find ways to fight back. Higher education is no exception.