Discontent is growing at Yale University after The New York Times reported that the university may settle with the U.S. Department of Justice in a dispute over its admissions process. The DOJ has accused Yale of continuing to consider race in admissions for its medical school after the practice was ruled illegal in the 2023 Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

Opposition to the Settlement

Student, faculty, and alumni groups are mobilizing to oppose a potential settlement. A rapidly-organized phone bank drew 60 participants ranging from the class of 1970 to the incoming class of 2030. The groups mobilizing include Yale’s undergraduate student government, the Yale College Council, Yale College Democrats, the Yale chapter of the American Association of University Professors, and the alumni group Stand Up for Yale.

The groups say they’re concerned any settlement will come at the cost of Yale’s academic freedom and integrity, as well as the safety of its international students. Rishi Gurudevan of the Yale College Democrats said the idea for a phone bank came to him when he saw an Instagram post from the college council sharing phone numbers for people to call.

DOJ’s Allegations

The DOJ’s letter to Yale cited several pieces of evidence, including a slide from a 2024 presentation given to Yale admissions personnel. The slide was titled ‘Admissions post-SCOTUS’ and was otherwise blank. The DOJ alleged that this suggested admissions personnel were given verbal instructions encouraging the use of race/ethnicity in admissions, which were not put in writing.

However, attorneys from Sher Tremonte LLP, representing the Yale AAUP, described the DOJ’s allegations as ‘bogus — cherry-picked, statistically weak, and presented without appropriate context or support in the record.’ They argued that the DOJ’s conclusions were unsupported by facts and based on pure speculation.

Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.