BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. Justice Department found that UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine engages in racial discrimination in admissions, favoring black and Hispanic applicants with lower credentials over white and Asian counterparts.
- UCLA's admissions process is criticized for prioritizing racial diversity over merit, with evidence suggesting the school believes better patient care is linked to racial matching between doctors and patients.
- The findings align with ongoing scrutiny of medical school admissions practices, following a Supreme Court ruling that prohibits race-based considerations in admissions, and the DOJ is also investigating other universities for similar issues.
The U.S. Justice Department announced that its investigation determined the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles is engaging in racial discrimination in its admissions process.
“The Department uncovered evidence that UCLA’s leadership intentionally selected applicants based on their race,” a Wednesday news release from the department states.
The department reviewed documents which revealed “that UCLA adheres to the dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified,” it states.
The school consistently admitted black and Hispanic students who had lower academic credentials than their white and Asian peers.
“Medical schools use substantial federal financial assistance to train the next generation of doctors. The Department is continuing its focus on eradicating illegal race politics from admissions at medical schools, where quality and excellence are vitally important,” the news release states.
In a letter addressed to UCLA Chancellor John Mazziotta, the department pointed to an instance in which the director of admissions, Alisa Lopez, shared a document with her team that suggests ways to increase diversity, such as using racial proxies.
The document claims that having more black and Hispanic doctors will improve healthcare for those communities, and suggests that not admitting enough students from these groups could harm patients in the future.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the school is sacrificing “merit and excellence” at the expense of “racial politics,” according to the news release.
“Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue,” Dhillon said.
Similarly, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said that both federal law and Supreme Court precedent forbid race discrimination in higher education.
“The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles,” Essayli said.
Students Against Racial Discrimination filed a lawsuit against the University of California system in federal court last year, The College Fix previously reported.
At the time, a member of the group and former UCLA professor told The College Fix the school’s “second-chance review policy” is to blame.
Around the same time, a leaked memo from UCLA’s School of Medicine revealed that the admissions committee is instructed to ensure representation of students of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Justice Department has also launched probes into the medical schools at Stanford University, Ohio State University, and the University of California San Diego to determine whether they are discriminating against applicants based on race.
These investigations stem from a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that banned considering race in admissions.
MORE: NPR admits colleges flag black students for admissions
