In new court filings on Friday, Harvard University claimed that the organization that sued the university over discrimination against Asian students presented a “misleading narrative.”
The Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sued the prestigious university in 2014 for allegedly preferring whites, blacks and Hispanics at the expense of more deserving Asian American students.
Last month, the organization filed documents in a Massachusetts federal court indicating that university had analyzed the admissions policy in 2013.
The study highlighted a policy that was unfavorable to candidates of Asian origin, with academic results that were generally higher than those of other ethnic groups.
It showed that because of the policy, Asians represented only 19 percent of admitted students, whereas they would have been 26 percent based on non-racial admissions criteria and 43 percent on academics alone.
The university on Friday dismissed the analysis as “deeply flawed” based on “cheery picked” documents and says the organization has no proof of discrimination against it.
“The evidence fails to show – let alone beyond dispute – that Harvard intentionally discriminates against Asian-American applicants,” the school said.
While SFFA’s president, Edward Blum, in an emailed statement said that his organization will make public the remaining redacted data, memos, emails and depositions that university refuses to disclose during the testimony.
The case is slated to go to trial on October 15 later this year.