Protests erupt in California over shelved compensation bill
Janelle King, co-chair of Win for America Action, spoke about the Kamala Harris campaign's efforts to garner endorsements from labor leaders, Democrats' efforts to defend Harris' “change in tone,” and protests in California over a shelved reparations bill.
The California Legislature Democratic-led bill Last week, the state passed a bill that, if signed by the governor, would prohibit private universities from giving admissions preference to applicants with ties to alumni, employees or donors.
AB 1780 passed the Assembly unanimously and the Senate with only five Republicans voting no. The bill now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom's approval.
According to the bill's Democratic author, Rep. Philip Ting, the bill is “in response to last summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned race consideration in the college admissions process.”
“If race doesn't count, Ting and other advocates believe that wealth and relationships shouldn't count either,” Ting's office said in a press release.
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The bill would prohibit private universities from giving admissions preference to applicants with ties to alumni, employees or donors. (Myung J. Chung / Contributor)
“Equal opportunity is the mantra here — everyone should be treated fairly,” Ting said in a statement.. “To get a freshman seat, you need to study hard, get good grades, and have a well-rounded background — not the size of the check your family can write or the personality of your relatives. If we care about diversity in higher education, we need to level the playing field, and that means making the college admissions process more fair and equitable.”
This is not the first time Ting has tried to pass the bill to block preferential admissions at universities like Stanford and USC. The current version of the bill has gone through several revisions from previous versions.
An earlier version of the bill would have stripped state funding from private universities if they were found to be practicing outdated admissions practices, but this was removed in the latest version.
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 17: File art at the California State Capitol. Photographed at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California, on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Ting's office said in the report that six California universities last fall still prioritized applicants with alumni or donor ties. The University of Southern California admitted the most students, 1,791, while Stanford University accepted 295. Claremont McKenna College and Harvey Mudd College each admitted 15, Northeastern University admitted fewer than 10 and Santa Clara University admitted 38, down from 1,133 a year earlier.
If Governor Newsom signs the bill into law, California will become the fifth state to ban legacy admissions.
Last year, Democrats in Congress A similar bill was introduced It was called the Fair College Admissions Act for Students, but some Republicans criticized it.
“It's kind of interesting that a top university that has demonstrated a lot of virtue in terms of reducing inequality would take this kind of step to cultivate student loyalty,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, told HuffPost.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom applauds during the opening day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024. (Reuters/Alyssa Poynter)
“I'm not taking a position, but I can't help but point out the irony in this,” said Cassidy, the ranking member of the Senate Health and Education Committee. “If it turns out that this is a huge source of inequality in our country, I would expect that they would voluntarily end this if they really mean it and are virtue signaling.”
Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Tim Scott and J.D. Vance indicated at the time they might support the bill, which has not seen any significant movement since July 2023.
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This month, Illinois joined Colorado and Virginia in banning legacy admissions at public universities. Maryland stands out as the only state to ban the practice at both private and public institutions, while New York, Massachusetts and Minnesota are actively debating similar measures in their states.
