Without a “Diversity” Leg to Stand On
City Journal | Renu Mukherjee
Mukherjee argues that Harvard’s own freshman survey data undermine one of its justifications for affirmative action, “that racial diversity generates viewpoint diversity on campus and contributes to the lively exchange of ideas.”
“Every year since 2013, usually during the first week of September, the Harvard Crimson publishes survey results profiling the incoming freshman class, including their political and social orientation…This year, however, the Crimson didn’t publish the feature…Harvard may have good reasons for wanting to delay such a report, given an upcoming Supreme Court case.”
Mukherjee argues that past survey data undermine Harvard’s assertion about diversity: “Of the Class of 2025…only 1.4 percent identify as very conservative; only 7.2 percent identify as somewhat conservative; and only 18.6 percent identify as moderate. By contrast, 72.4 percent of freshmen identify as predominantly liberal. Yet this class is the “the most diverse class in the history of Harvard,” according to William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid…”
“Contrary to what O’Connor claimed in Grutter,” Mukherjee argues, “affirmative action has not led to greater diversity of thought on America’s college campuses.”
