U.S. Accuses Berkeley Law of Bias Against White and Asian Applicants as 10 UC Campuses Face Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
U.S. Accuses Berkeley Law of Bias Against White and Asian Applicants as 10 UC Campuses Face Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Summary
Federal civil rights officials said Berkeley Law discriminated in admissions against white and Asian applicants while favoring Black applicants, widening the Trump administration’s post-2023 crackdown on race-conscious admissions.
Applicant data supplied by the law school underpinned the finding, and Justice Department official Harmeet Dhillon said the patterns could not reasonably have occurred by chance and amounted to substantial evidence of intentional discrimination.
Berkeley rejected the accusation, saying admissions are based on merit rather than race and pledging to provide evidence that it complies with all relevant laws and rules.
The case deepens the administration’s clash with the University of California system, where all 10 campuses are already under federal scrutiny as officials press their reading of the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative-action ruling.