Harvard Accused of Discriminating Against Asian-Americans
哈佛大學(xué)被控歧視亞裔美國(guó)人
A United States federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, is hearing a discrimination case against the oldest university in the country.
馬薩諸塞州波士頓市的一家聯(lián)邦法院正在審理一起控告該國(guó)最古老大學(xué)的歧視案。
The nonprofit organization Students for Fair Admissions first took legal action against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014. It says the school discriminates against Asian-Americans seeking admission.
非營(yíng)利性的“大學(xué)生公平入學(xué)”組織于2014年首次對(duì)馬薩諸塞州劍橋市的哈佛大學(xué)提起法律訴訟。該組織表示,哈佛大學(xué)歧視申請(qǐng)入學(xué)的亞裔美國(guó)人。
The legal action accuses Harvard of holding Asian-American students to higher requirements than students of other races. It says the university uses "racial balancing" policies that unlawfully limit how many Asian American students it accepts.
這起訴訟控告哈佛大學(xué)對(duì)亞裔學(xué)生維持高于其他種族學(xué)生的入學(xué)要求。它稱(chēng)該大學(xué)采用“種族平衡”政策,非法限制所錄取的亞裔學(xué)生人數(shù)。
The organization argues that race should not be considered when deciding which students to accept. The use of "racial classifications and preferences" is "unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional," the group says on its website.
該組織辯稱(chēng),在學(xué)生錄取的決定中不應(yīng)該考慮種族因素。該組織在其網(wǎng)站上表示,使用“種族分類(lèi)和偏好”是“不公平、不必要的,并且違反了憲法。”
It accuses the school of discriminating against Asian-Americans seeking admission by giving them a "personal rating."
它指控該校通過(guò)“個(gè)性評(píng)分”歧視亞裔美國(guó)人。
Lawyers for Students for Fair Admissions said these ratings seek to measure personal qualities such as "courage" and "likeability." Such qualities are measured subjectively, leaving the process open to discrimination, the lawyers argued.
“大學(xué)生公平入學(xué)”組織的律師表示,這些評(píng)分旨在衡量“勇氣”和“喜好度”等個(gè)人品質(zhì)。律師們認(rèn)為,這類(lèi)品質(zhì)是主觀衡量的,使得這一過(guò)程容易受到歧視。
The group says it has more than 20,000 members, including students, parents and others.
該組織稱(chēng)其有20萬(wàn)成員,包括學(xué)生、家長(zhǎng)等人。
Harvard denies using discriminatory practices in its admissions process. The Ivy League school says it uses race as one of many things it considers in admissions decisions. It believes considering race can help create a mixed community "where students from all walks of life" can learn with and from each other.
哈弗大學(xué)否認(rèn)在招生過(guò)程中采用歧視性做法。這所常春藤聯(lián)盟學(xué)校表示,它將種族作為招生決策過(guò)程中考慮的眾多因素之一。該校認(rèn)為,考慮種族可以幫助建立一個(gè)由不同種族組成的社區(qū),各種學(xué)生能夠相互學(xué)習(xí)。
Education and employment policies that consider race are known as affirmative action. Supporters say these policies can help make up for historic, widespread racial discrimination of minority groups. Critics have long argued that affirmative action is unfair to white people and Asian-Americans who outperform other groups on academic measures.
在教育和就業(yè)政策中考慮種族因素被稱(chēng)為平權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)。支持者稱(chēng)這些政策可以幫助彌補(bǔ)少數(shù)族群受到的歷史性和廣泛性的歧視。批評(píng)者長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)一直認(rèn)為,平權(quán)行動(dòng)對(duì)學(xué)業(yè)成績(jī)優(yōu)于其他群體的白人和亞裔來(lái)說(shuō)是不公平的。
The U.S. Supreme Court has heard several cases about affirmative action in recent years.
美國(guó)最高法院最近幾年審理了幾起關(guān)于平權(quán)行動(dòng)的案子。
The Supreme Court's most recent decision on the subject approved limited use of race in the admission process. That 2016 decision came from a lawsuit against the University of Texas that accused the school of discriminating against white students.
最高法院就此問(wèn)題做出的最新裁決批準(zhǔn)了種族因素在錄取過(guò)程中的有限使用。2016年做出的這一裁決來(lái)自一起控告德克薩斯大學(xué)歧視白人學(xué)生的訴訟。
Harvard leaders have said the school only considers race in the way earlier Supreme Court cases have ruled is permitted.
哈佛大學(xué)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人表示,該校只會(huì)照最高法院已經(jīng)裁決允許的方式考慮種族因素。
The university has also noted that its share of Asian-Americans has grown in recent years, reaching 23 percent of the latest first year class.
該校還指出其亞裔學(xué)生比例近年來(lái)有所增長(zhǎng),亞裔在最近入學(xué)的一年級(jí)學(xué)生中達(dá)到了23%的比例。
Harvard reports that 15.2 percent of its most recent first year class is African-American. Hispanic or Latino students make up 12.3 percent, while 1.9 percent are Native American. That leaves a remaining group of mainly white students at under 50 percent.
哈佛大學(xué)報(bào)告稱(chēng),最新入學(xué)的一年級(jí)學(xué)生中,非洲裔美國(guó)人占到了15.2%,西班牙裔或拉美裔學(xué)生占到了12.3%,而美洲原住民占到了1.9%。這使得以白人為主的其它群體所占的比例低于了50%。
President Donald Trump's administration supports the argument against Harvard.
川普政府支持反哈佛大學(xué)的觀點(diǎn)。
In July, the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing government guidelines meant to increase student diversity at U.S. schools. The guidelines were developed during the presidency of Barack Obama. The guidance stated that schools could consider race in admissions decisions as long as the policies did not violate Supreme Court decisions.
今年7月,川普政府宣布退出旨在增加美國(guó)學(xué)校學(xué)生多樣性的指導(dǎo)方針。這些指導(dǎo)方針是在奧巴馬任內(nèi)制定的。這些方針指出,只要政策不違反最高法院裁決,學(xué)校就可以在錄取決定中考慮種族因素。
The U.S. Justice Department said it was withdrawing the guidelines because it considered them "unnecessary or outdated." Civil rights groups criticized the move and some university officials said they would continue their efforts toward mixed student populations as before.
美國(guó)司法部稱(chēng)退出這些指導(dǎo)方針是因?yàn)樗鼈兪?ldquo;不必要的或者過(guò)時(shí)了。”民權(quán)組織批評(píng)此舉,一些大學(xué)官員表示,他們將會(huì)像以前一樣,努力建立一個(gè)由多種族組成的學(xué)生群體。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布萊恩·林恩報(bào)道。
A United States federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, is hearing a discrimination case against the oldest university in the country.
The nonprofit organization Students for Fair Admissions first took legal action against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014. It says the school discriminates against Asian-Americans seeking admission.
The legal action accuses Harvard of holding Asian-American students to higher requirements than students of other races. It says the university uses “racial balancing” policies that unlawfully limit how many Asian American students it accepts.
The organization argues that race should not be considered when deciding which students to accept. The use of “racial classifications and preferences” is “unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional,” the group says on its website.
It accuses the school of discriminating against Asian-Americans seeking admission by giving them a “personal rating.”
Lawyers for Students for Fair Admissions said these ratings seek to measure personal qualities such as “courage” and “likeability.” Such qualities are measured subjectively, leaving the process open to discrimination, the lawyers argued.
The group says it has more than 20,000 members, including students, parents and others.
Harvard denies using discriminatory practices in its admissions process. The Ivy League school says it uses race as one of many things it considers in admissions decisions. It believes considering race can help create a mixed community “where students from all walks of life” can learn with and from each other.
Education and employment policies that consider race are known as affirmative action. Supporters say these policies can help make up for historic, widespread racial discrimination of minority groups. Critics have long argued that affirmative action is unfair to white people and Asian-Americans who outperform other groups on academic measures.
The U.S. Supreme Court has heard several cases about affirmative action in recent years.
The Supreme Court’s most recent decision on the subject approved limited use of race in the admission process. That 2016 decision came from a lawsuit against the University of Texas that accused the school of discriminating against white students.
Harvard leaders have said the school only considers race in the way earlier Supreme Court cases have ruled is permitted.
The university has also noted that its share of Asian-Americans has grown in recent years, reaching 23 percent of the latest first year class.
Harvard reports that 15.2 percent of its most recent first year class is African-American. Hispanic or Latino students make up 12.3 percent, while 1.9 percent are Native American. That leaves a remaining group of mainly white students at under 50 percent.
President Donald Trump’s administration supports the argument against Harvard.
In July, the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing government guidelines meant to increase student diversity at U.S. schools. The guidelines were developed during the presidency of Barack Obama. The guidance stated that schools could consider race in admissions decisions as long as the policies did not violate Supreme Court decisions.
The U.S. Justice Department said it was withdrawing the guidelines because it considered them “unnecessary or outdated.” Civil rights groups criticized the move and some university officials said they would continue their efforts toward mixed student populations as before.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
classification – n. the process of putting people or things into groups by their type, size, etc, or one of these groups
preference – n. the feeling of liking something or someone more than another person or thing
courage – n. the ability to do something without being afraid
subjective – adj. influenced by someone else’s beliefs or feelings instead of facts
affirmative action – n. the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.?
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