The Wall Street Journal reports that lawsuit claims that UCLA David Geffen Medical School continues to consider race as a factor in its admission process.
The class-action lawsuit from the groups Students for Fair Admissions and Do No Harm is brought on behalf of students who were reportedly denied admission since 2020. It says that UCLA has used different academic standards to try and achieve racially balanced students in classes.
According to unnamed “whistle blowers,” the associate dean of admissions, Jennifer Lucero, encouraged applications to be answered in a way that indicated the race of the applicant. This was later verified through interviews with the medical school, the Los Angeles Times reports. Decisions were then discussed by the admissions committee, and race played a key factor in determining those who were admitted.
AFN talked with Kurt Miceli, the Medical Director of Do No Harm.
Miceli states, "Unfortunately, UCLA School of Medicine has continued to illegally use race in admissions despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Students for Fair Admission, as well as state law in California.”
Proposition 209 in California previously banned affirmative action in 1997, and the governing body of California universities says that they have followed the law regarding admissions practices since the proposition went into effect.
“Not only is this practice immoral and unfair, but it's obviously illegal, and we're fighting for all students who've been racially discriminated against by UCLA under the pretense of political progress. It's really simple: all medical schools must abide by the law and prioritize merit and nothing else in, in their admissions," Miceli explains.
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the admissions committee allowed black applicants with low GPA and Medical College Admission Test scores (MCAT) to enroll in the school, leaving Caucasian and Asian applicants to only be considered if they had nearly perfect test scores.
“It's so important that we have physicians who have the merit and the achievement to be exceptional doctors to provide that exceptional care to patients. It's just so important for us to make sure that these practices end.” Miceli continues, “We are again fighting for students who've been racially discriminated against and want to uphold the highest standards of quality and merit, particularly in medical education.”
Multiple University of California campuses and private university Stanford are under suspicion by the Trump Administration for committing “illegal DEI” admissions practices, with several of them coming under investigation by the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, UCLA David Geffen Medical School is reported to be complying with an investigation from the Department of Health and Human Services on the suspicion of discriminating in admission through race, color, or national origin.
