Harvard — the school that just spent six long years in court fighting to prevent photos of slaves from falling into the hands of their descendants — is facing allegations that its law school — which only recently decided honoring a slave-owning family on its crest was a bit passe— is facing legal trouble stemming from allegations that they have a history of being too hard on White men. The New York Times has the details on the suit to come:
The department signaled that it was reviewing claims of discrimination against white men at The Harvard Law Review, and accused the renowned publication of destroying evidence in an open investigation. The administration demanded that Harvard “cease and desist” from interfering.
In a series of letters that have not been previously reported, the government also disclosed that it had a “cooperating witness” inside the student-run journal. That witness now works in the White House under Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s domestic policy agenda, Trump officials confirmed.
The accusations of White discrimination and evidence destruction sound like the DOJ took a page out of FASORP’s Harvard ploy. FASORP accused Harvard Law Review members of discriminating on the basis of race when selecting which students are accepted and which articles get published based on information leaked to The Washington Free Beacon. There were some issues with the claim that the provided screenshots “proved” an ongoing pattern of racial discrimination happening at the Law Review — one being the implication that discussions from 2021 (years before SFFA v. Harvard was decided) should be taken as proof of discrimination tactics that would have happened years later. Harvard Law Review took to the school newspaper to deny the accusations and point to controlling documents that explicitly rule out the use of race in the ways that FASORP and the DOJ accuse. The Crimson wrote:
[T]he Law Review fact sheet referred to a different document, outlining guidelines for editor selection, that states that discussion of “race alone” in a personal statement cannot be considered except “to the extent that the discussion demonstrates some other attribute,” such as leadership ability.
In short, mentioning or acknowledging a candidates’ race doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s the reason they got in. Funnily enough, that falls exactly in line with the sort of personal statement scenarios I argued were fair game and what was actually happening back when FASORP was harassing Michigan Law students.
While this may seem old hat to most people tapped in to the goings-on in the legal community, the fact that this squabble is making headlines in normie newspapers is well, newsworthy. When your uncle who reads the Times brings this up to you, be sure to let him know that many of the FASORP scare tactics and preceding parallels were largely unsuccessful and ultimately dismissed.
A Stephen Miller Staffer and Tough Talk: Inside Trump’s Latest Attack on Harvard [NYT]
Harvard Law Review Forcefully Denies Racial Discrimination Accusations That Sparked Federal Inquiry [The Crimson]
Earlier: How Long Would It Take For Harvard Law School To Distance Itself From Slavery?
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent .
The post The DOJ’s Accusations That Harvard Discriminates Against White Men Are Dressed-Up FASORP Talking Points appeared first on Above the Law.
Harvard — the school that just spent six long years in court fighting to prevent photos of slaves from falling into the hands of their descendants — is facing allegations that its law school — which only recently decided honoring a slave-owning family on its crest was a bit passe— is facing legal trouble stemming from allegations that they have a history of being too hard on White men. The New York Times has the details on the suit to come:
The department signaled that it was reviewing claims of discrimination against white men at The Harvard Law Review, and accused the renowned publication of destroying evidence in an open investigation. The administration demanded that Harvard “cease and desist” from interfering.
In a series of letters that have not been previously reported, the government also disclosed that it had a “cooperating witness” inside the student-run journal. That witness now works in the White House under Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s domestic policy agenda, Trump officials confirmed.
The accusations of White discrimination and evidence destruction sound like the DOJ took a page out of FASORP’s Harvard ploy. FASORP accused Harvard Law Review members of discriminating on the basis of race when selecting which students are accepted and which articles get published based on information leaked to The Washington Free Beacon. There were some issues with the claim that the provided screenshots “proved” an ongoing pattern of racial discrimination happening at the Law Review — one being the implication that discussions from 2021 (years before SFFA v. Harvard was decided) should be taken as proof of discrimination tactics that would have happened years later. Harvard Law Review took to the school newspaper to deny the accusations and point to controlling documents that explicitly rule out the use of race in the ways that FASORP and the DOJ accuse. The Crimson wrote:
[T]he Law Review fact sheet referred to a different document, outlining guidelines for editor selection, that states that discussion of “race alone” in a personal statement cannot be considered except “to the extent that the discussion demonstrates some other attribute,” such as leadership ability.
In short, mentioning or acknowledging a candidates’ race doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s the reason they got in. Funnily enough, that falls exactly in line with the sort of personal statement scenarios I argued were fair game and what was actually happening back when FASORP was harassing Michigan Law students.
While this may seem old hat to most people tapped in to the goings-on in the legal community, the fact that this squabble is making headlines in normie newspapers is well, newsworthy. When your uncle who reads the Times brings this up to you, be sure to let him know that many of the FASORP scare tactics and preceding parallels were largely unsuccessful and ultimately dismissed.
A Stephen Miller Staffer and Tough Talk: Inside Trump’s Latest Attack on Harvard [NYT]
Harvard Law Review Forcefully Denies Racial Discrimination Accusations That Sparked Federal Inquiry [The Crimson]
Earlier: How Long Would It Take For Harvard Law School To Distance Itself From Slavery?
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent .
The post The DOJ’s Accusations That Harvard Discriminates Against White Men Are Dressed-Up FASORP Talking Points appeared first on Above the Law.
