Legacy admissions under fire: Carleton abandons, Georgetown students petition, Pa. senator proposes ban - Higher Ed Dive
Students, faculty and alumni of Georgetown University, a highly selective Washington, D.C. institution, have revived a petition against its use of legacy admissions.
A similar effort emerged in 2020 but was unsuccessful.
The authors of the new petition, which attracted over 340 signatures as of Friday morning, wrote they’re “deeply concerned with the inevitable impact on diversity and inclusion in admissions and on campus” following the Supreme Court decision against race-conscious admissions.
Georgetown President John DeGioia issued a statement in June expressing disappointment in the ruling and said the university will continue to recruit, enroll and support students from varying backgrounds.
However, a report produced this year by Georgetown’s own Center on Education and the Workforce said selective institutions should abandon legacy preferences to achieve more ethnic and racial diversity.
That same report stated alumni “can be counted on” to oppose ditching legacy preferences and could threaten to withhold donations “because they regard their alma maters’ preferences for even the most lackluster legacy applicants as a well-deserved reward for families’ institutional loyalty.”
At least one institution that nixed legacy policies, Johns Hopkins University, didn’t see any changes in alumni donor activity, an institution official told NPR in 2020. And some research shows legacy preferences don’t translate into significantly higher alumni donations.
A Georgetown spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
