Two Democrats Propose Banning College ‘Legacy’ Admissions

(Bloomberg) -- Two Democratic politicians are proposing a law that would block U.S. colleges and universities from giving preferential treatment to the children of donors or alumni, in an attempt to level the playing field for admissions.

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York are sponsoring the bill, which would prohibit the practice for any institution of higher learning participating in federal student aid programs. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley are also backing the measure, which according to a statement Wednesday from Merkley's office has only Democratic support so far.

The legislation has also drawn support from the American Civil Liberties Union and Edward Blum, whose lawsuits challenging race-conscious admissions practices at schools including Harvard University and the University of North Carolina is getting a Supreme Court hearing. The ACLU and Blum have previously been on opposing sides of college admissions debates, the group has described him as “the man who wants to kill affirmative action.”

No action has been scheduled yet on the bill and there's no guarantee that it will go anywhere with the calendar already full, and lawmakers' attention turning soon toward midterm elections.

A few colleges have already dropped the practice of so-called legacy admissions for the children of graduates. The Massachusetts Institution of Technology has had a no-legacy policy for years. Amherst College, one of the richest liberal arts colleges, and Johns Hopkins University have said they are ending legacy preference in admissions.

“Legacy admissions only serve to uphold systemic inequality in higher education,” Carlos Moreno, a senior campaign strategist with the ACLU, said in a statement. “At some of the top universities in this country, more White legacy students were admitted than Black and Latinx students combined. These practices are not only inequitable, but they prevent universities from creating a more diverse student body on their campuses that would benefit all students.”

Blum said that his group “has clearly argued that legacy preferences should be eliminated in order to create a more equitable admissions process for students of all races and ethnicities. Regrettably, Harvard, the Univ. of North Carolina and dozens of other competitive schools continue to lower the admissions bar for the children of their alumni by vigorously claiming that these legacy preferences help ‘create a community' and ‘promote donor gifts.'”