美国司法部发表声明支持亚裔学生状告哈佛歧视,然后呢?
8 月 30 日,美国司法部发表声明,支持亚裔学生状告哈佛大学本科在录取新生的时候歧视亚裔美国人。

29 日,美国司法部发表了一个叫做 Statement of Interest 的文件,官网截图如下:
原文及翻译如下:
The Department of Justice toay file a Statement of Interest on the sie of the plaintiff in Stuents For Fair Amissions, Inc. v. Presient An Fellows Of Harvar College in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The plaintiff, Stuents For Fair Amissions, an organization of stuents an parents, alleges that Harvar College intentionally iscriminates against Asian-American applicants when making amissions ecisions. The plaintiff seeks relief from Harvar’s allege iscrimination uner Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a cornerstone civil rights law that prohibits iscrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs an activities that receive feeral financial assistance. The Department opene a Title VI investigation into Harvar’s amissions process in 2017 base upon a complaint file by more than 60 Asian-American organizations.
美国司法部就公平录取学生组织在麻省地方方法状告哈佛本科学院校长和相关人员一案发表声明。公平录取学生组织,一个代表学生家长的机构,控诉哈佛大学本科学院在做录取决策时有意识地其实亚裔美国人。原告人提出在 1964 年通过的公民权利法案中第六条明确表示禁止在获得联邦财务资助的活动中基于人种、肤色或者来自哪个国家进行歧视。美国司法部在 2017 年基于第六条款展开对哈佛大学录取过程的调查。
The Unite States’ Statement of Interest file toay argues that Harvar has faile to show that it oes not unlawfully iscriminate against Asian Americans.
现在司法部就哈佛大学没有提供足够的证据显示自己没有歧视亚裔美国人发布该声明。
As a conition1 of receiving millions of ollars in taxpayer funing every year, Harvar specifically agrees to not iscriminate on the basis of race in its amissions ecisions. However, the stuents an parents who brought this suit have presente compelling evience that Harvar’s use of race unlawfully iscriminates against Asian Americans. In toay’s filing, the Unite States urges the court to grant the plaintiffs the opportunity to prove these claims at trial.
哈佛大学每年会收到数百万纳税人的资金的条件之一,该校统一不在录取决策过程中基于种族进行歧视。但是,原告的学生和家长提供了足够有说服性的证据显示哈佛大学在录取过程中歧视亚裔美国人。在今天的声明中,司法部敦促法院让原告有机会通过法庭裁决才证明证明原告的状告。
In filing the Statement of Interest, Attorney General Jeff Sessions provie the following statement:
在这份声明中,美国司法部部长 Jeff Sessions 提供了如下的声明:
“ No American shoul be enie amission to school because of their race. As a recipient of taxpayer ollars, Harvar has a responsibility to conuct its amissions policy without racial iscrimination by using meaningful amissions criteria that meet lawful requirements. The Department of Justice has the responsibility to protect the civil rights of the American people. This case is significant because the amissions policies at our colleges an universities are important an must be conucte lawfully.”
不应该有美国人因为他们的种族在录取中被拒绝。哈佛大学收到了纳税人给与的资金,就有责任在其录取过程中采取满足法律有关要求的有意义的录取标准,而不能有任何种族歧视。美国司法部有责任包括美国人民的民主权利。因为在美国的大学中,录取政策非常重要,应该按照相关法律来执行,该案非常重要。
Harvar amits that it uses race to ecie whether to amit certain applicants to the college. Uner Supreme Court preceent, Harvar must emonstrate that its use of race oes not result in illegal iscrimination. Harvar has faile to o so, an the Department file a Statement of Interest that argues the plaintiffs shoul be allowe to procee to a trial.
哈佛大学承认其使用种族因素来决定是否录取某个学生。在最高法院的判例下,哈佛大学必须证明其使用种族因素并不会造成非法的歧视。但是,现在哈佛大学无法证明这一点,所以司法部发布这个证明,强调应该允许原告进入法院裁决步骤。
While Harvar amits to using race in its amissions process, it has faile to provie any meaningful criteria to explain how it weighs race against other factors in a caniate’s application (e.g., test scores an extracurricular activities), an how it limits its use of race to ensure that no illegal iscrimination occurs. Supreme Court preceent requires Harvar to provie such an explanation, which it has faile to o in this case.
哈佛大学承认在录取过程中使用种族因素,而且无法提供有意义的标准来解释为在评估申请时,种族因素和其他因素,例如标化成绩、课外活动到底权重是多少,以及如何在使用种族因素中确保不会发生歧视。最高法院判例中要求哈佛大学提供这样的解释,但现在哈佛大学无法提供。
Further, the evience shows that Harvar uses a “personal rating” that may be biase against Asian Americans. Base solely on a review of the applicant’s file, Harvar scores its applicants base on “subjective” factors such as “likability” an being a “goo person” with “human qualities.” Harvar amits that, on average, it scores Asian-American applicants lower on this “personal rating” than applicants of other races.
进一步来说,证据显示哈佛大学使用的所谓的个人评估( Personal Rating )也许在刻意歧视亚裔美国人。仅仅根据对申请者档案的审核,哈佛大学对一些主观的因素,例如被人喜爱的成都、具有良好品质的好人进行打分。哈佛承认,一般来说,在个人评估部分,亚裔美国人比其他种族的申请者得分都要低。
Substantial evience also emonstrates that Harvar amissions officers an committees consistently monitor an manipulate the racial makeup of incoming classes, which has resulte in stable racial emographics in Harvar’s amitte classes from year to year. The Supreme Court has calle such attempts to “racially balance” the makeup of a stuent boy “patently unconstitutional.”
大量证据显示,哈佛大学招生官和招生委员会持续的监控以及操纵新生的种族组成,从而造成历年哈佛大学新生群体中有比较稳定的种族构成。最高法院曾经说刻意追求种族平衡的方法显然是违反宪法的。
Finally, the Justice Department has etermine that Harvar—while using race to make amissions ecisions for more than 45 years—has never seriously consiere alternative, race-neutral ways to compile a iverse stuent boy, which it is require to o uner existing law.
最后,美国司法部得出结果结论:哈佛大学在超过 45 年的时间里使用种族的因素来决定录取,而且从来没有认真考虑其他非种族因素的方法来组成多样化的学生群体,即使这样做是现存法律要求的。
这个声明对于中国申请人和家长来说,是好还是坏呢?
应该算是好消息。虽然该案主体是亚裔美国人(包括持有绿卡或者公民)。但哈佛大学以及其他很多美国私立顶尖大学在录取中普遍使用个人品质的评估适用于所有亚裔,普遍存在着歧视。
如果哈佛大学败诉,很有可能改变其录取的评估方法,考虑更多有利于亚裔及更加客观和偏向学术的指标,或许对中国申请人有利。
在美国打官司旷日持久,这个案子极有可能会到最高法院,需要裁定哈佛大学是否违反宪法,因此虽然有了声明,但也不一定很快有结果,可能需要几年的时间。
当然,最重要的一点是,声明归声明,还需要有最终的判决。哈佛大学的个人品质评估方法在其他顶尖大学,例如耶鲁、普林斯顿、斯坦福大学等都普遍存在,一旦哈佛败诉,恐涉及很多美国顶尖大学。美国的法院尤其是最高法院裁决时会受到很多干扰,最后裁决的结果难以预料。