The U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending race-conscious admissions in June placed a spotlight on legacy preferences in higher education, a practice that mostly helps white and wealthy students.
Many selective colleges give a boost during the admissions process to the children or grandchildren of alumni, making them more likely to gain admission. But following the Supreme Court ruling, the Education Department opened a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s legacy admissions policy.
“We Benefited From Legacy Admissions. And We Want It to End.” is a five-minute Opinion video that profiles five legacy students who wrestle with the advantages they enjoyed in the college admissions process. One Ivy League graduate laments, “It’s painful for me to think that all of my hard work in high school was so irrelevant compared to the fact that I was able to check the box that my dad went there.” Another says, “Legacy admissions is affirmative action for the rich.”
How persuasive is the video? Do you agree that legacy admissions should end? What factors do you think colleges and universities should take into account when considering whom to admit?
Students
1. Watch the short film above. While you watch, you might take notes using our Film Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help you remember specific moments.
2. After watching, think about these questions:
-
What questions do you still have?
-
What connections can you make between this film and your own life or experience? Why? Does this film remind you of anything else you’ve read or seen? If so, how and why?
3. An additional challenge | Respond to the essential question at the top of this post: Should we end legacy admissions?
4. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)
5. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.
6. To learn more, read “Why Legacy Admissions Are at the Center of a Dispute in Higher Education.” Vimal Patel writes:
The Supreme Court ruling put a renewed emphasis on fairness in college admissions. The high court voted 6 to 3 to reject affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, a decision expected to lower the number of Black students at selective college campuses.
Since the ruling, a handful of colleges have dropped legacy preferences, including the University of Minnesota and Wesleyan University. In an interview, Michael S. Roth, Wesleyan’s president, said legacy status had played a “negligible role” in admissions but that it was becoming a distraction and “a sign of unfairness to the outside world.”
The opposition to legacy preferences is bipartisan. President Biden; Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York; and Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, have all spoken out against the practice.
In a concurring opinion in the ruling on race-conscious admissions, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch criticized preferences for the children of donors and alumni, saying they “undoubtedly benefit white and wealthy applicants the most.”
Want more student-friendly videos? Visit our Film Club column.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
