P1 1WHEREAS, Harvard University, one of the nation’s oldest,
2most prestigious postsecondary educational institutions, employs
3unconstitutional race-based admissions policies that disadvantage
4Asian American student applicants; and
5WHEREAS, Statistical evidence shows that Harvard University
6holds Asian American student applicants to a far higher standard
7than other student applicants in the student enrollment process and
8that Harvard University uses racial classifications to engage in the
9same brand of invidious discrimination against Asian Americans
10that it formerly used to limit the number of Jewish students enrolled
11in its student body; and
12WHEREAS, A recent lawsuit filed against Harvard University
13by Students for Fair Admissions cites an Asian American student
14applicant who was denied admission to Harvard University despite
15being valedictorian of a competitive high school, achieving a
16perfect ACT score and a perfect score of 800 on two of the SAT
17II subject exams, and participating in numerous extracurricular
18and volunteer activities; and
19WHEREAS, This highly qualified student applicant was denied
20the opportunity to compete for admission to Harvard University
21on equal footing with other student applicants due to his race; and
22WHEREAS, Harvard University has maintained roughly the
23same proportion of Asian American students to other ethnic groups
24for years despite changes in application rates and qualifications,
25and only the use of race or ethnicity as a dominant factor in
P2 1admissions decisions could account for the remarkably low
2admission rate for high-achieving Asian American student
3applicants; and
4WHEREAS, In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States
5affirmed in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin that an
6applicant’s race should only be considered in the admissions
7process when student body diversity cannot be achieved through
8other means; and
9WHEREAS, There are race-neutral policies that Harvard
10University can use to achieve diversity in its student population,
11including limiting legacy preferences, increasing financial aid to
12attract minority students, and giving preference based on
13socioeconomic measures or ZIP Codes; and
14WHEREAS, Other postsecondary educational institutions have
15acknowledged that if they used a race-neutral plan by which they
16automatically admitted the top 10 percent of each high school class
17in their state, they would actually increase their minority
18enrollment; now, therefore, be it
19Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
20calls upon Harvard University to end its focus on a student
21applicant’s race in its student enrollment process and to instead
22consider the overall individual contribution of each student
23candidate in a manner that does not have the practical effect of
24capping the number of Asian American students enrolled in its
25institution; and be it further
26Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
27this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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