A student leads a protest at Princeton University
The recent college admissions cheating scandal has reignited the ongoing national debate over whether or not affirmative action policies disadvantage majority populations, or if legacy admissions block other deserving and minority students. Overwhelmingly, polls show Americans view the college admission process as full of inequities around issues of wealth and class.
They also believe that legal breaks for athletes and minorities rig the system too. What is clear is that African Americans have often made the most of their careers when allowed in. As noted in Stefan M. Bradley’s recent book, Upending the Ivory Tower: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Ivy League, African American students at elite institutions from the 1940s through the 1970s were the catalysts for change, thus paving the way for progress for others.
