Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls for Harvard to end legacy admissions
BOSTON – Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she believes Harvard University and other colleges need to change the way they handle the admissions process.
Warren spoke to WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller, and was asked if Harvard should end its legacy admissions policy.
"Yup," Warren said. "I also think they should take a look at the country club sports that also have implications for who it is that's making it into college, recruited athletes to play squash and golf."
Warren said she disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision about affirmative action, but believes it will have unexpected consequences in the long term.
"I think what's going to be interesting now is to watch the fallout," Warren said. "A lot of people who thought 'Oh all of the tilt in the system was over on race' are going to discover no, actually a lot of the tilt in the system was for who your grandparents were, who your parents were, and whether or not your folks can afford to hire fancy coaches for you in fancy sports that are very expensive to start playing when you're 10 and 11 years old."
The Massachusetts Democrat said this isn't something that needs to be looked into at Harvard, but also around the country.
"We say in effect to 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds, if you weren't smart enough to be born into a richer family that if you try college, if you try technical school, if something goes wrong and you get sick, mom gets sick, your family has to move or somebody gets pregnant, you could end up with a debt burden that will be with you literally for decades," Warren said. "I think that's a terrible mistake for us."
Keller @ Large: Part 2
