{"id":2008940,"date":"2023-08-23T05:07:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T09:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-school-administrators-huddle-to-circumvent-affirmative-action-ban\/"},"modified":"2023-08-23T05:09:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T09:09:48","slug":"law-school-administrators-huddle-to-circumvent-affirmative-action-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-school-administrators-huddle-to-circumvent-affirmative-action-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Law school admins unite to bypass affirmative action ban."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flaw-school-administrators-huddle-to-circumvent-affirmative-action-ban%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008940&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<h2>Law \u200bSchool\u2063 Administrators Seek Ways\u200c to\u2063 Circumvent Supreme Court&#8217;s Ban on Race-Based Admissions<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Top law school administrators are brainstorming ways to\u200b circumvent\u200b the Supreme Court&#8217;s ban on\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-justice-department-drops-discrimination-lawsuit-against-yale\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Justice Department Drops Discrimination Lawsuit Against Yale\">race-based admissions<\/a>,\u200d advising schools not to\u200b create a &#8220;record&#8221; of\u2063 &#8220;discriminatory \u200dintent&#8221; and \u200dwarning that socioeconomic preferences will \u200cresult in too\u2064 many white and Asian students being admitted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That advice, dispensed \u200cat a legal\u2063 conference in July, came from UC Berkeley Law School dean Erwin Chemerinsky and University of Michigan general\u2062 counsel Timothy Lynch. Hosted \u2064by the American Association of Law Schools, the event focused on how institutions could use race-neutral means to achieve diversity.<\/p>\n<p>When attendees questioned the \u200dlegality of \u200bsuch methods, arguing that they could be struck down because of their race-conscious motive, Lynch \u200dstressed \u200cthe need for\u2063 plausible \u200cdeniability.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;You \u200cshould be \u2063aware right now \u2063of the record you&#8217;re \u200bcreating,&#8221; Lynch told\u2062 the conference, which was \u200costensibly devoted \u2062to helping schools comply with the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision. &#8220;What are your faculty \u200bsaying \u2062in\u200b emails? What \u2062are they saying in public?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Plaintiffs often look \u2064for evidence of &#8220;discriminatory intent,&#8221; Lynch explained, noting that the Supreme Court explicitly forbade backdoor racial preferences in its ruling. The \u2063&#8221;key question,&#8221; he said, is &#8220;what can you \u2063say right \u2064now is the race-neutral explanation for doing it, and how do \u200cyou avoid having your faculty colleagues muddy the record?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Great point,&#8221; replied Chemerinsky, who moderated the \u2063conference. The Berkeley Law \u200bdean\u2063 had been <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realchrisrufo\/status\/1674548940522549248?s=61&#038;t=6Ve-iSSEGZmZ1KVpsighKw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">caught on tape<\/a> \u2062a few days earlier, \u200bin June, describing how his school gets around California&#8217;s ban on affirmative action in faculty hiring, joking\u200c with students that\u200d &#8220;if \u200bever \u200bI&#8217;m deposed, I&#8217;m going to deny I said this to you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In another exchange, \u2063Lynch\u200d warned that socioeconomic preferences were no substitute for racial ones\u2014and\u200b appeared \u200cto suggest that class-based \u200dadmissions help too \u2064many white and Asian \u2063students.<\/p>\n<p>It &#8220;doesn&#8217;t do the trick\u2062 demographically,&#8221; he \u200bsaid, because \u2062in states like Michigan, &#8220;there are \u200dmany more people \u200dwho are not underrepresented who are low-income.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers\u2063 who reviewed \u200cfootage of\u200c the conference\u2063 said it\u2062 could form part of\u2063 the very &#8220;record&#8221; Lynch warned against \u200bcreating,\u2064 exposing schools to legal liability and giving plaintiffs ample ammo for a lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If \u200bthese people were ever sued for race discrimination, this video would be exhibit A to the jury,&#8221;\u2062 said Samantha\u200d Harris, an attorney who specializes\u200b in education law. &#8220;Even if the speakers could articulate a non-discriminatory reason for their policies, \u200bthe video \u200dcalls into question their sincerity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lynch&#8217;s statement\u200d about socioeconomics\u2062 was a\u200c red flag, said\u200b Gail Heriot, \u2063a law professor at the University of San Diego who \u200csits on the U.S. Commission on Civil \u200dRights, \u200band\u2064 Dan Morenoff, the executive director \u200dof the American Civil Rights Project, which litigates reverse discrimination cases.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the old definition of a gaffe? Saying exactly what \u200dyou mean,&#8221; Morenoff said. &#8220;It&#8217;s like\u200b they&#8217;re trying \u2063to assure they&#8217;ll lose the eventual litigation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Reached\u2062 for comment, \u200dChemerinsky said the exchanges had been \u200ctaken out of context.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The assumption of the conference\u2014and of Mr. Lynch&#8217;s remarks and mine\u2014was that schools will\u2064 comply in good faith with the Court&#8217;s\u200c ruling,&#8221; Chemerinsky said. Addressing the video from \u200bJune, Chemerinsky added that\u2064 Berkeley &#8220;does not consider race\u200b in any of its hiring and admissions decisions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The conference, which was \u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1Shl_vJ0xl4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted on \u2063YouTube<\/a>, \u200bis \u200dperhaps \u2063the most brazen example yet of universities seeking to get around the Supreme \u2062Court&#8217;s ruling. Columbia Law drew criticism this month when it announced\u2014and then\u200b rescinded\u2014a <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/columbia-law-school-said-it-would-require-applicants-to-submit-video-statements-in-the-wake-of-affirmative-action-ban-then-it-backtracked\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">requirement<\/a> that \u2064applicants submit 90-second &#8220;video statements,&#8221; a move widely seen as a pretext for racial discrimination. Colleges\u2062 across the country have\u200d also\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/14\/us\/college-applications-admissions-essay.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">added essay \u200cquestions<\/a> \u2063 on &#8220;identity,&#8221; while\u200c some law schools have waived the\u2063 Law School Admissions Test, on which white \u200band Asian students tend\u2064 to outperform their black peers.<\/p>\n<p>The conference\u2062 suggests critics are \u200cright to suspect an \u2063ulterior\u200d motive behind these changes. It comes as conservatives are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/21\/us\/politics\/supreme-court-thomas-jefferson-high-school-admissions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gearing up<\/a> to \u2062challenge admissions programs\u2014such as those put\u200b in place by Thomas Jefferson \u2063High School, an elite magnet program \u2064in Alexandria, Va.\u2014that \u2062use zip codes and other colorblind criteria as proxies for race.<\/p>\n<p>While the June affirmative\u200c action ruling \u2062did not address such practices directly, courts have long barred \u200demployers from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-school-administrators-huddle-to-circumvent-affirmative-action-ban\/\" title=\"Law school admins unite to bypass affirmative action ban.\">adopting facially neutral job requirements<\/a> to exclude women or \u200dminorities. The same\u2063 principle will likely apply to university admissions going \u2064forward, Heriot said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If a university\u200c selects admissions criteria BECAUSE of the effect it anticipates the\u2063 criteria \u2064will have\u200c on the racial composition of the class, the \u2063criteria will \u2063be considered racially discriminatory&#8221;\u2014and, after the\u2062 affirmative action\u200b decision, a violation of\u200c the law, Heriot wrote in an email. &#8220;Lynch makes \u200bit\u200b very\u200c clear that this is \u2063what he&#8217;s suggesting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The University of Michigan offered its \u2064&#8221;complete support\u200c to Mr. Lynch&#8217;s comments.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is\u200c our view that Mr. Lynch was a\u200c strong advocate for\u200b compliance with the law\u2062 across the institution,&#8221; said\u2063 Rick Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the\u2063 university. &#8220;And he offered his comments \u200bin the context of U-M&#8217;s lived experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fitzgerald \u200dalso \u200cnoted that Lynch, who\u200b did not respond to a request for comment, \u200dbegan his remarks by saying he \u200bwas &#8220;not\u2062 providing legal advice.&#8221; That\u200d caveat would probably protect him from a malpractice lawsuit, said Noah Peters, a\u200d former solicitor of\u2063 the Federal Labor Relations Authority, but wouldn&#8217;t\u200b stop his statements from being used as evidence against the university.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Courts look\u2062 to decision-maker statements to \u2063divine intent,&#8221; Peters said. Lynch&#8217;s &#8220;general advice\u2014to resist \u200dthe\u2064 constitutional obligation to not consider\u2062 race\u2014is \u200creally disturbing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Though Chemerinsky did say\u2063 the legality of race-neutral proxies remained &#8220;unresolved,&#8221; he\u2062 seemed fairly sanguine about\u2063 their use. As long as the program \u2064is &#8220;written and \u2026 executed in \u2064a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/star-parker-goodbye-affirmative-action-hello-individual-freedom-and-dignity\/\" title=\"Star Parker: Goodbye Affirmative Action, Hello Individual Freedom and Dignity\">race-neutral fashion<\/a>,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t \u200bsee a problem.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But other \u2063speakers seemed keen on having a\u200c fallback \u2062plan should those programs go the way of affirmative action. Mark Alexander, the president \u200cof \u2064the\u200b American Association of Law Schools and the faculty chairman of Villanova Law, suggested that religious \u200bschools \u200dlike\u2063 his own might \u200cbe able to secure a First Amendment exemption\u2063 to the ban on racial preferences.<\/p>\n<p>As a &#8220;Catholic institution,&#8221; Alexander said, Villanova believes that &#8220;we\u2062 are strengthened \u2063by individuals of \u2062diverse \u2062backgrounds. \u2026 If\u200c we\u2064 were not allowed to pursue those values,\u200b would that\u200b be a violation of our religious freedom?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Probably not, said \u2063David Bernstein, a\u200d professor at George Mason Law \u2063School who has\u2063 written extensively\u2064 about \u2064the conflict between free speech and anti-discrimination law.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A\u2063 long\u200c line of precedents suggests that\u2062 eliminating \u200cracial discrimination \u2064is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/opinion-people-of-faith-must-educate-themselves-on-the-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Opinion: People Of Faith Must Educate Themselves On The Supreme Court\">compelling government interest<\/a>&#8220;\u2014meaning it justifies \u200brestrictions on the First Amendment\u2014Bernstein told the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>. Alexander&#8217;s argument is &#8220;a total loser.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top law school administrators are strategizing to bypass the Supreme Court&#8217;s ban on race-based admissions. They suggest avoiding any evidence of discriminatory intent and caution against admitting too many white and Asian students through socioeconomic preferences. UC Berkeley shared this advice during a legal conference in July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":2008941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}