Yesterday, we discussed how UCLA medical school has been accused of racial discrimination in admissions. Now Yale School of Medicine has also been accused of “intentionally select[ing] applicants based on their race” in knowing circumvention of Supreme Court precedent.
The Justice Department announced that “Yale’s documents reveal that they studied how to use racial proxies to circumvent the Supreme Court’s prohibition on using race to select students…admissions data demonstrate that Black and Hispanic students have a much higher chance of admission to Yale than White or Asian students with the same test scores.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon added on X that “a black applicant is 29 times more likely to be invited to interview than an Asian with equally strong academics.”
As discussed yesterday, many of us predicted that schools would knowingly evade such rulings and regulations.
After the historic ruling in the Harvard and North Carolina cases barring the use of racial criteria in admissions, administrators and academics admitted what they had long denied: that race was having a major role in admissions.
In anticipation of the rulings, many schools, including the California system, eliminated standardized testing. Without objective scores, there is less ability to identify the use of non-scholastic criteria for admissions. By eliminating or devaluing standardized testing, admissions offices can use the more subjective essays to achieve the same race-based results.
I wrote about how administrators were already preparing to use essays as an indirect way to achieve the same identifications and preferences in admissions. The essay “prompts” encourage students to effectively self-identify by discussing incidents where they faced discrimination. The shift to the essays would allow the removal of high-scoring students while elevating those with lower scores. That prediction was quickly confirmed, as top candidates were rejected based on their essays, while schools used essays to flag their backgrounds.
Interviews can serve the same function as an alternative to formal self-identification and race-based scoring.
Faculty and administrators at UCLA and other schools remain adamant in using race-based admissions. They simply justify discrimination as equity and diversity.
These schools remain hardened silos of race-based practices and policies. The same faculty and administrators are unlikely to yield unless compelled to do so. In the meantime, they will spend copious amounts of money and time fighting for differential treatment based on race. The hope is that a new Democratic administration will not enforce these rules and allow such circumvention to continue in admissions.
The Trump Justice Department is implementing Project 2025 by trying to eliminate any chance for blacks to get higher educations or admission into professional schools. Doing away with DEI is a key feature of Project 2025, which the majority of Americans opposed, so Trump lied about that being his agenda, and then implemented it anyway. The Trump DOJ is going after former FBI Director Comey, accusing him of directly threatening to kill Trump because he posted a photo of sea shells arranged by someone else that read: “86 47”. This latest prosecution came after the first prosecution was dismissed because former beauty contestant Lindsey Halligan brought the prosecution and misrepresented herself as a “US Attorney”, which she was not. Imagine that–a prosecutor who is supposed to stand for justice lying about being a U S Attorney just to try to prosecute someone because a politician ordered her to do so. The Trump Justice Department is planning to give Trump $1.75 Billion of our tax dollars to pay “reparations” to the January 6 insurrectionists, and Trump promised to pardon anyone who committed crimes in his name–thus incentivizing violence. The Trump Justice Department refuses to comply with the law requiring full release of the Epstein files, and pardons the wealthiest or refuses to prosecute them. Meanwhile Trump pardoned the former president of Honduras, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for importing literally tons of cocaine into the United States, as well as weapons offenses. That’s just some of the dirt on the Trump DOJ — and, BTW, politicizing the DOJ is also in Project 2025.
So, Turley wants us to respect the Trump DOJ and believe there is merit to its accusation against Yale Medical School? The Trump SCOTUS is the one that struck down DEI in higher education. Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett all lied about Roe v. Wade being settled law–just to get onto the Court. Obama was denied his choice of SCOTUS nominee by Republican Mitch McConnell, and that’s how we got Gorsuch. Four of the judges are drastically far-right of the views and values of most Americans, and are there because they lied during their confirmation hearings. So, Turley wants us to respect them and their rejection of DEI as a valid way to achieve diversity in higher education and admission to professional schools.
Turley, as a MAGA pundit, uses tradition when it suits MAGA–we’re supposed to “respect” Trump because he occupies the White House, even though he lied to get into office by making promises he had no intention or ability to deliver on and even though he lied about Project 2025 being his agenda when polls showed that it was massively unpopular with the American people. We are supposed to “respect” the Trump nominees to the SCOTUS and Alito, who were chosen by ultra right wingers in the Federalist Society to try to eliminate the right to abortion. You MAGAs can’t have it both ways. Trump’s “presidency” is the product of lies and MAGA media, set up by billionaires who don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes and who want to eliminate consumer and environmental protections, so they create alternative media to attack Democrats, to explain away Trump and MAGA failures, the nonstop corruption and deceit, and to attack mainstream media because it reports the truth about Trump and his utter incompetence and corruption. The Trump SCOTUS has a radically conservative majority who are implementing Project 2025, several of whom have serious conflicts of interest.
Sorry, Turley, it won’t fly. Access to higher education should not be based solely on test scores, which skew in favor of certain groups. Life experiences and overcoming obstacles should count for at least as much as test scores. The Trump DOJ is fully politicized and has no credibility, so when they accuse anyone of anything, most of us are skeptical. They have eliminated experienced and dedicated prosecuting attorneys because they don’t owe fealty to Trump–which is how the DOJ is supposed to work–to benefit the interests of the Amerian people, not Trump or any other politician. Their oath is to the Constitution, not Trump. But, the disciples need affirmation, especially after Trump’s disasterous humiliating trip to China, in which he tried to ingratiate himself to President Xi by lavishing praise on him–that praise was not reciprocated. Trump wanted Xi to agree to help end the stupid war he started with Iran–President Xi declined, even though the Chinese get their petroleum via the Strait of Hormuz. There was no agreement to go back to purchasing US soybeans or other agricultural products after Trump destroyed that market by his illegal tariffs. The Chinese get their soybeans elsewhere. The Chinese social media mocked Trump,, claiming that the US is in decline and that China will take over as a superpower, Xi made clear that he wants to take Taiwan–but what to do? American companies are heavily invested in Taiwan, where they make computer chips and other items we rely on and Trump can’t throw them under the bus. But, Trump did take Eric along, and Eric is heavily involved in several Chinese business ventures. Turley endlessly attacked Joe Biden over alleged influence peddling of Hunter Biden, but Hunter never went with Joe on any overseas trips, and no “pay to play” was ever proven. Trump has taken expensive gifts from foreign governments and intends to keep them–a violation of the Emoluments Clause. Trump is the worst POTUS ever.
If they took a poll asking whether people would prefer a DEI doctor or pilot, for that matter, we all know what it would show.
This means that if you have an Asian or White doctor who went to UCLA or Yale Medical School, s/he is probably more qualified than others in her/his graduating class.