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Justice Dept.: Yale discriminated against Asian, White applicants

Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday accused Yale University of discriminating against Asian and White applicants in its undergraduate admissions process.

The Justice Department said it notified Yale of the alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 following a two-year investigation into the university in response to a complaint by Asian American groups.

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As a result of its investigation, the Justice Department said it found that Yale discriminates based on race and national origin in its undergraduate admissions process, saying that White and Asian applicants are only one-tenth to one-fourth as likely to be admitted as Black applicants with comparable credentials.

"Yale rejects scores of Asian American and White applicants each year based on their race, whom it would otherwise admit," the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department demanded that Yale agree to not use race or national origin as determining factors in its upcoming 2020-2021 undergraduate admissions cycle or submit a "narrowly tailored" plan to the agency that identifies the date it will stop using those factors for admission, among other details.

In a statement on Thursday, Yale denied the allegations and said it would not change its admissions processes, saying the standard the Justice Department was seeking to impose on the university is inconsistent with existing law.

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"We will continue to look at the whole person when selecting whom to admit among the many thousands of highly qualified applicants. We will continue to look at what students have accomplished and hope to contribute to Yale and the world. We will continue to create a student body that is rich in a diverse range of ideas, expertise and experiences," Yale President Peter Salovey wrote.

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