University of California sued over alleged racial discrimination in admissions

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - A group of students sued the University of California, claiming the school system gives unfair advantages to Black and Hispanic applicants, despite a state ban on affirmative action, The Washington Post reported.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in a federal court in California, comes from a group called Students Against Racial Discrimination representing White and Asian would-be applicants.

The lawsuit seeks to stop UC schools from considering race in admissions.

Jonathan Mitchell, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said more lawsuits will follow.

“Universities continue to defy the law by using race and sex preferences in student admissions and faculty hiring,” he said.

“We will keep suing them until they adopt colorblind admissions and rid themselves of every last vestige of these odious and discriminatory practices,” he added.

A spokesman for the University of California denied the claims, saying the university has followed the law since 1996, when California banned race-based admissions. “UC undergraduate admissions applications collect students’ race and ethnicity for statistical purposes only and they are not used for admission.”​​​​​​​