DOJ lawsuit against Harvard raises concerns over student privacy – Boston University News Service
DOJ lawsuit against Harvard raises concerns over student privacy – Boston University News Service
https://bunewsservice.com/doj-lawsuit-against-harvard-raises-concerns-over-student-privacy/
Publish Date: 2026-03-17 11:49:00
Source Domain: bunewsservice.com
A view of Harvard University and the Charles River on Apr. 15, 2025 in Cambridge, Mass. (Courtesy of AP Photo/Charles Krupa).
By Elena Pejic
Boston University News Service
A lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice that accuses Harvard University of refusing to provide admissions data confirming the university has stopped using affirmative action in its admissions process is raising concerns over student privacy.
The lawsuit has its origins in the 2023 Supreme Court decision Students for Fair Admissions, Inc (SFFA) v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll. which ruled 6-3 that Harvard’s admissions program was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause for the manner in which it considered race as a factor in admissions.
The administration opened a federal compliance review of the Ivy League institution last April, saying that Harvard has to hand over five years of admissions data for undergraduate, law, and medical programs by Apr. 25, 2025.
Now, the administration is saying they have still not received the data and that Harvard has “thwarted” efforts by the DOJ to “investigate potential discrimination.”
“Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination — we will continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a press release.
Harvard responded by saying it has upheld the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on requiring colleges to stop considering race in the admissions process, with Harvard University spokesperson Jason Newton saying in a statement that the university is “committed to following the law, including civil rights laws in connection with admissions and financial aid.”
Harvard Magazine Managing Editor Jonathan Shaw added that demographic data for Harvard’s two classes admitted following the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc (SFFA) v….
