BOSTON — a trial will open here in federal court Monday to weigh accusations that Harvard university's famously competitive undergraduate admissions system is rigged against asian americans, in a case that holds potential to become another landmark in the nation's long debate over affirmative action.
students for Fair admissions, a group representing asian american applicants, alleges in the lawsuit that Harvard violates their civil rights in multiple ways through an admissions process in which race is a known factor.
The plaintiff contends Harvard discriminates against asian americans when rating their personal qualities such as leadership and compassion, and every year engineers a precise racial balance of admission offers that gives an unfair edge to less-qualified applicants from other groups.
Harvard denies all the allegations and says it considers race only in a limited way.