Re: NYT: "Harvard Admissions Process Does Not Discriminate Against Asian-Americans, Judge Rules"

Thanks Mark.  I appreciate the query because it forces me to name names.
Here's Jeffrey Toobin in *The New Yorker *last year (full article below  as
pdf, will send to anyone who asks);


The lawsuit is the latest brainchild of Edward Blum, a conservative
activist who has made a career of attacking laws and policies that have
historically assisted African-Americans. Blum shepherded the Shelby County
lawsuit, which the Supreme Court used, in 2013, to gut the Voting Rights
Act of 1965. He was also behind Fisher v. University of Texas, which
challenged the admissions practices at U.T., and which twice failed, by a
narrow margin, in the Supreme Court. The Harvard case is essentially a
rerun of Fisher, except with the prospect of review by a newly reinforced
and expanded conservative majority on the Court.
...
Blum and his allies can talk all they want about level playing fields and
race neutrality, but their legal and policy efforts all point in the same
direction—toward less power and influence for groups that are
disproportionately affected by the disadvantages of poverty and low
incomes. This case comes in the camouflage of solidarity with
Asian-Americans, but, in reality, it’s just the same as the others.

That Justice Powell, famed for his insistence that big business get
forceful against liberals in 1971, positive toward the  1978 Bakke
decision, illustrates how the playing field has changed.

I hope I've understood your question, Mark.  Always good to hear from you!

I'll add that this may well not be over: a friend reminds me that it could
go to the Supreme Court.

Dan


...


On Wed, Oct 2, 2019 at 9:16 AM Mark Williams <[email protected]> wrote:

> > There will certainly be continuing tensions over who gets admitted and
> > why.  And rightwing efforts to keep *certain* minorities out will play a
> > role.
>
> Dan,
>
> Who are these rightwingers you speak of?  Efforts from the right to
> influence campus affairs are usually confined to trying to control how
> donations are spent, not admissions.  These rightwingers must be among the
> most frustrated people on God's earth, unless the Ivies are somehow
> uniquely susceptible, which I doubt.
>
> I'm honestly trying not to be obtuse here; I just don't know what you're
> talking about.
>
> Best,
>
> M.
>
>