POSITION PAPER

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Committee: Special Committee (S-Com)

Topic: Prestigious American Universities - Unveiling the Scandals/ Prestigious Universities
Summit - Improving The Tertiary Education System
Institution: Harvard University
Delegate Name: Vu Phuong Linh

The United States has ruled the world as the most sought-after university location for students
from all around the world, despite the expansion of other English-taught options in other nations.
Reasons for this may vary from cultural diversity, high international rankings, excellent
programs and student support system, or flexibility in education method1. However, there are
numerous controversies surrounding these prestigious American institutions that cannot be
overlooked as they are causing inequality or even mistreatment among its students. Harvard has
taken into consideration issues such as bribery and legacy admission, racism, sexual harassment
and the manipulation of the United State College ranking systems and recognizes the need for
institutions to allocate funding reasonably, as well as work in cooperation toward the goal of
establishing an inclusive and optimised education system for our students.

In 2019 - Operation Varsity Blues - an illegal plot to sway undergraduate admissions decisions at
several prestigious American universities came to light. William Rick Singer, the scheme's
mastermind, was paid by 33 parents of college applicants more than $25 million between 2011
and 2018 to falsely inflate applicants' entrance exam test results and pay off college officials. In
response to the scandals, suggestions were given, including boosting enrolment at elite
universities and establishing non-negotiable barriers between admissions and development
officers; eliminating legacy admissions (as Johns Hopkins University did); allocating more

1
5 Reasons Why Everyone Wants to Study in the U.S. (2022). Masters Portal.
https://www.mastersportal.com/articles/839/5-reasons-why-everyone-wants-to-study-in-the-us.html

1
spaces for low-income, first-generation, and nontraditional students; or ensuring admission to the
top-ranked students to all public universities in the state (as the University of Texas did). Ideas
for changing the way colleges are ranked by publications like U.S. News & World Report have
also surfaced. For example, instead of ranking colleges based on the admission of students with
high test scores and good grades, or for selectivity, they should be commended for fostering
access, diversity, and affordability2. On the other hand, legacy admission, which dates back to the
1920s, when prestigious colleges—traditionally the preserve of affluent Protestants—began to
worry that Catholics and Jews were gaining entrance, is also proving to be discriminating against
students who do not have a family background within the university. Although the precise
number of colleges using legacy preferences is unknown, a 2018 study by Inside Higher Ed
indicated that the method was utilized by 6 percent of public schools and 42 percent of private
schools, including the majority of the country's elite universities. Only a small number of
prestigious universities, such as Johns Hopkins and Amherst, have recently given up the
preference3.

Similar to the bribery and the legacy admission scandal, the issue of racism is one that concerns
various universities, especially those in the Ivy League. Racism is one of the sole reasons for
inequality in admissions, with 51.6% of college students being White or Caucasian4. In January
2022, The U.S. Supreme Court said it would likely hear oral arguments in October in a case that
challenges Harvard and the University of North Carolina's racial admissions procedures5. The
plaintiffs in the North Carolina case made a more well-known claim that the university
discriminated against white and Asian applicants by giving preference to Black, Hispanic, and
Native American applicants, while the plaintiffs in the Harvard case claimed that the university
used a subjective standard to judge traits like likability, courage, and kindness and effectively

2
Strauss, V. (2020, February 15). There’s a lot of talk about changing college admissions after the Varsity Blues
scandal — don’t hold your breath. Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/02/15/theres-lot-talk-about-changing-college-admissions-after-var
sity-blues-scandal-dont-hold-your-breath/
3
Saul, S. (2022, July 14). Elite Colleges’ Quiet Fight to Favor Alumni Children. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/us/legacy-admissions-colleges-universities.html
4
Hanson, M. (2022, July 26). College Enrollment & Student Demographic Statistics. Education Data Initiative.
https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics
5
Walsh, C. (2022, January 27). Supreme Court to take Harvard admissions case. Harvard Gazette.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/01/supreme-court-to-take-harvard-admissions-case/

2
created a ceiling for Asian American applicants in admissions6. Regarding sexual harassment,
reasons may vary from the institutions’ lack of programs to raise awareness among their
students, as well as threats posed by staff and professors of the university and the abuse of
substances. Harvard has witnessed a case concerning three students filing a case in Boston
federal court against a Harvard anthropology professor named John Comaroff for behaviours
such as “kissed and groped students without their consent, made unwelcome sexual advances,
and threatened to sabotage students’ careers if they complained.” 7

With several scandals involved, Harvard University understands its responsibility in resolving
these issues. As a response to racism, Harvard's president Lawrence Bacowsaid that $100 million
will be set aside for an endowment fund and other initiatives to eliminate the educational, social,
and economic disparities that are a result of racism and slavery. Harvard also wishes to fund
summer programs to bring faculty and students from historically Black colleges and universities
to Harvard as well as send Harvard teachers and students to HBCUs like Howard University in
Washington, DC8. In regard to other issues, Harvard would like to be engaged in discussions with
other universities to gain more perspective, while releasing press releases in accordance with
Harvard’s education goals and beliefs.

As a prestigious university in the Ivy League, Harvard also promotes cooperation among
universities in America, as Harvard believe that cooperation is the key to resolving issues that
would deeply affect generations of American such as those within the education field. Harvard
believes that universities should be aware that their academic atmosphere, which encourages
trust and cooperation, would possibly makes them a convenient target for individuals who would
take advantage of gullibility such as in the Operation Varsity Blues case. Thus, Harvard proposes

6
Liptak, A., & Hartocollis, A. (2022, January 25). Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Affirmative Action at
Harvard and U.N.C. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/politics/supreme-court-affirmative-action-harvard-unc.html
7
Yang, M. (2022, February 9). Harvard students sue, claiming school ignored professor’s sexual harassment. The
Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/feb/09/harvard-students-file-lawsuit-claiming-school-ignored-professo
r-sexual-harassment-for-years
8
Reporter, G. S. (2022, April 26). Harvard devotes $100m to closing educational gap caused by slavery. The
Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/26/harvard-slavery-racism-endowment-fund#:%7E:text=Harvard
%20University%20is%20setting%20aside,faculty%20and%20staff%20on%20Tuesday

3
institutions create rules to address the particular threats highlighted by the college admissions
scam while also considering more general security measures; providing staff with anti-bribery
training and relieving coaches of development expectations and strategically allocating funding
for development programs and awareness programs for students. With these proposals in hand,
Harvard wishes to be able to draft a resolution that would compromise with other institutions’
interests on the matter and would be beneficial to the improvement of the United States’
education system.

- end -

4
REFERENCES
1. 5 Reasons Why Everyone Wants to Study in the U.S. (2022). Masters Portal.
https://www.mastersportal.com/articles/839/5-reasons-why-everyone-wants-to-study-in-the-us.ht
ml
2. Hanson, M. (2022, July 26). College Enrollment & Student Demographic Statistics.
Education Data Initiative. https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics
3. Liptak, A., & Hartocollis, A. (2022, January 25). Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to
Affirmative Action at Harvard and U.N.C. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/politics/supreme-court-affirmative-action-harvard-unc.h
tml
4. Reporter, G. S. (2022, April 26). Harvard devotes $100m to closing educational gap
caused by slavery. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/26/harvard-slavery-racism-endowment-fund#:
%7E:text=Harvard%20University%20is%20setting%20aside,faculty%20and%20staff%20on%2
0Tuesday
5. Saul, S. (2022, July 14). Elite Colleges’ Quiet Fight to Favor Alumni Children. The New
York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/us/legacy-admissions-colleges-universities.html
6. Strauss, V. (2020, February 15). There’s a lot of talk about changing college admissions
after the Varsity Blues scandal — don’t hold your breath. Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/02/15/theres-lot-talk-about-changing-college-a
dmissions-after-varsity-blues-scandal-dont-hold-your-breath/
7. Walsh, C. (2022, January 27). Supreme Court to take Harvard admissions case. Harvard
Gazette.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/01/supreme-court-to-take-harvard-admissions-case/
8. Yang, M. (2022, February 9). Harvard students sue, claiming school ignored professor’s
sexual harassment. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/feb/09/harvard-students-file-lawsuit-claiming-scho
ol-ignored-professor-sexual-harassment-for-years