Congressional Democrats reintroduce legislation to ban legacy admissions on college campuses nationwide
‘Legacy admissions disproportionately benefit wealthy, white, and connected students and have racist, antisemitic, and anti-immigrant roots,’ Bowman said.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-O.R.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) proposed the Fair College Admissions for Students Act that would restrict legacy admissions nationwide.
Congressional Democrats initiated an effort July 26 to ban legacy admissions from college campuses.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-O.R.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) proposed the Fair College Admissions for Students Act that would prohibit colleges from giving preference to college applicants related to alumni and donors.
“All students deserve an equitable chance to be admitted to institutions of higher education, but many are overlooked in the admissions process due to the historically elitist and racist legacy and donor admissions practices at colleges across the country,” Bowman said.
“Legacy admissions disproportionately benefit wealthy, white, and connected students and have racist, antisemitic, and anti-immigrant roots,” he added. “They create another systemic barrier to accessing higher education for low-income students, students of color and first-generation college students.”
Democrats prompted the proposal after the Supreme Court’s ruling in June against affirmative action in college admissions. Bowman and Merkley said that legacy admissions reduce opportunities for “descendants of enslaved African Americans who built and maintained many of these institutions, and other underrepresented students.”
Additionally, they said that the accessibility of higher education for non-white students is “under attack.”
“Though the Supreme Court gutted race-conscious college admissions, make no mistake, affirmative action is still alive and well for children of alumni and major donors, and taxpayers shouldn’t be funding it,” Merkley said.
“Children of donors and alumni may be excellent students and well-qualified, but they are the last people who should get an additional leg up in the complicated and competitive college admissions process,” Merkley added.
The bill would modify the Higher Education Act of 1965 to bar federal funding from higher education institutions that continue to give admissions preference to students with ties to alumni or donors. Neither the House or Senate allowed the bill to pass when it was first introduced in February 2022.
Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.)–a supporter of the Supreme Court’s decision against affirmative action in college admissions–said that Harvard should “eliminate any legacy programs where they have preferential treatment for legacy kids” in a June 29 Fox News interview.
[RELATED: Proposed MA law targets legacy admissions]
Bowman was pleased to hear Scott’s remarks.
“I was happy to hear Sen. Tim Scott say that he supports ending legacy admissions,” Bowman Bowman told NBC News. “We call on him to become a co-sponsor of the bill and help us get 10 Republicans — nine more on the Senate side — so that we can pass in the Senate and make this bill legislation, because it’s about time.”
Massachusetts lawmakers proposed similar legislation discouraging legacy admissions with a bill that would implement a tax on wealthy colleges that display preferential treatment for legacy admissions, Campus Reform reported.
Campus Reform has contacted all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
