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According to an analysis by The New York Times, Black and Hispanic students are more underrepresented at the nation’s top colleges and universities than they were nearly 35 years ago, even with Affirmative Action policies.

In an analysis of 100 schools, the Times found that the number of Black freshmen at elite schools hasn’t changed since 1980, and though more Hispanics students attend these schools, the growth does not come in proportion to the Hispanic population growth in the U.S. And Ivy League schools admit more legacy students than Black students.

Though Affirmative Action has increased the numbers of Black and Hispanic college students, experts such as David Hawkins, executive director at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, say that the underrepresentation of these youth in higher-ed stem from a “cascading set of obstacles” earlier in their academic life.

According to the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, elementary and secondary schools with large numbers of black and Hispanic students are less likely to have adequate facilities  and instruction material, experienced teachers, and advanced college prep courses.

The analysis comes at a time when the Trump Justice Department is preparing to investigate and sue universities for affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against White and Asian American applicants. One statistic that seems to get lost in Affirmative action debates is that White women historically have been the biggest recipients of Affirmative action policies. Studies also suggest that White support for merit-based college admissions declines if it appears to benefit Asians at their expense [pdf].

SOURCE: New York Times

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