Will Students Testify in the Case Against Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Procedures?

Students are at the center of a lawsuit accusing Harvard University of bias against Asian and Asian-American applicants in its admissions process. But it’s unclear whether any will take the stand during next month’s trial.

Neither Harvard nor Students for Fair Admissions, the nonprofit organization that is suing the university, have sought to call students or alumni to testify in the trial, in Boston. The case has dawn national attention and is seen as the next phase in a long battle over affirmative action at universities and colleges. The U.S. Department of Justice came out against Harvard last month, saying its admissions policy “may be infected with racial bias.”

A group of Asian-American, African-American, and Latin American students and alumni has asked to be allowed to make opening and closing statements and to cross-examine Students for Fair Admissions’ expert witness. They wrote in a filing two weeks ago that Harvard’s consideration of race in admissions decisions “has benefited them both inside and outside of the classroom.”

On Friday, Harvard said in a brief that it welcomed their participation in the trial, while Students for Fair Admission opposed it. The university said it had not sought to call any students or alumni as witnesses “out of respect for their privacy,” but believes that the students are “well positioned to speak to the effect that student-body diversity achieved through Harvard’s whole-person admissions program — in which race is considered as one factor among many — has had on their Harvard experience.”

Students for Fair Admissions countered that allowing the group to intervene at this stage was unnecessary and unusual. The students are not witnesses called by one side or the other, but amici, or “friends of the court.” It’s typical for amici to file briefs for the judge to consider, but not to testify or cross-examine witnesses, the nonprofit said. If Harvard wanted students to testify, the university should have called them as witnesses, the group argued.

A Student Perspective

The students have said they have a unique perspective that does not perfectly align with either side. They wrote that they “note the data in the record that suggests special-category preferences disadvantage Asian-Americans” and other ethno-racial groups, and they condemned any discrimination that may be proved in the trial. But they did not agree with Students for Fair Admissions that the university should disregard race in its admissions process.

In total, eight students or alumni asked to testify. Caroline Zheng, a Chinese-American senior, said she would like to testify that more racial diversity is needed at Harvard to improve the campus climate for all students of color, including Asian-Americans.

Sarah Cole, an alumna who is black, said she would testify that when choosing where to attend college, it was important to her that Harvard considered applicants’ racial and ethnic backgrounds. A Chinese-American senior, Sally Chen, said she would like to speak about “how ethno-racial diversity on Harvard’s campus has benefited her by providing a foundation for her student activism.” That helped her in an effort to secure an ethnic-studies program that includes Asian-American studies, she said.

Oren Sellstrom, a lawyer for the group, said that the key issue was “bringing the voices of students into the dynamic, and in particular Asian-American students that support the diversity efforts that Harvard is engaged in.” He said the judge would decide whether his clients could participate in the trial.

Nell Gluckman writes about faculty issues and other topics in higher education. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email her at nell.gluckman@chronicle.com.