Group Sues UNC, Charging Race Bias In Admissions

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.

An organization called the Project on Fair Representation filed a lawsuit against UNC Monday, charging racial discrimination in its admissions policy.

The group also filed suit against Harvard University as well.

The suit against UNC cites a 2013 Supreme Court case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, in which the Court ruled that it was acceptable for colleges to pursue diversity as a goal in admissions – but also that they should pursue “race-neutral alternatives” first, and any race-conscious policy must be “narrowly tailored.”

The suits were filed Monday in Boston and Greensboro. In both cases, the plaintiff is actually a group called Students for Fair Admissions.

On Monday, Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Public Affairs Rick White issued a statement in response to the lawsuit. It reads:

“The University is aware of the suit filed today by the Project on Fair Representation. The University stands by its current undergraduate admissions policy and process. Further, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined in 2012 that UNC-Chapel Hill’s use of race in the admissions process is consistent with federal law.

“As the University wrote in a 2012 amicus “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the University continues to affirm the educational benefits diversity brings to students, as well as the importance of preparing students for a diverse society and assuring a pool of strong state leaders by admitting undergraduates from every background.”