Massachusetts lawmakers target "affirmative action for the wealthy"
CBSN
So-called legacy college admissions — or giving preference to the children of alumni — is coming under new scrutiny following the Supreme Court's ruling last week that scraps the use of affirmative action to pick incoming students.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts are proposing a new fee that would be levied on the state's colleges and universities that use legacy preferences when admitting students, including Harvard University and Williams College, a highly ranked small liberal arts college. Any money raised by the fee would then be used to fund community colleges within the state.
The proposed law comes as a civil rights group earlier this month sued Harvard over legacy admissions at the Ivy League school, alleging the practice discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair advantage to the mostly White children of alumni. Harvard and Williams didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
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