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图源：BBC.com
Harvard University discriminates against Asian-Americans?
哈佛大学歧视亚裔美国学生？
The lawsuit against Harvard University began in 2014. A group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA)alleged that the institution unfairly weighs race when considering applicants, forcing Asian-American students to meet a higher bar than their peers from other racial groups.
对哈佛大学的诉讼始于2014年。一个名为 “学生平等录取联盟 ”（SFFA）的团体声称，该高校在考虑申请人时，存在不公平权衡种族因素的现象。如果亚裔学生想要入学，就必须达到比其他种族同龄学生更高的标准。
In 2016, the Court rejected a challenge to affirmative action. In October 2018 the U.S. District Court in Boston began hearing a case against Harvard University for discrimination against Asians in its admissions process.And SFFA lost the case in October 2019.
2016年，法院驳回了对平权法案*的控诉。2018年10月，美国波士顿联邦地方法院开始审理哈佛大学招生程序中歧视亚裔案。2019年10月，SFFA败诉。
译注：平权法案（Affirmative Action）是1960年代伴随非裔美国人民权运动、妇女解放运动、性革命等一连串民权运动兴起的一项社会运动，1965年由民主党的美国总统林登·约翰逊发起，主张在大学招生、政府招标等情况下照顾如少数民族、女性等弱势群体，是一个特定时期“种族优先”的法律，保障他们不会在教育及工作方面受到歧视及不公平对待。
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) said Harvard preferred white, black and Hispanic applicants, some less qualified than Asian-American ones.
SAFF表示，哈佛大学更倾向于优先录取白人、黑人和西班牙裔的申请人，哪怕有些人的表现并不如亚裔学生。
图源：thepaper.cn
It said Harvard consistently ranked Asian-American applicants lowest on personal traits such as likeability.
报告称，哈佛大学一直把亚裔申请者的个人特质（如讨人喜欢）排在最低。
Harvard denied this, saying admission rates for Asian-Americans had grown. Asian-Americans currently make up 22.2% of students admitted to Harvard, according to the university website.African-Americans constitute 14.6%, Hispanic or Latino 11.6%, Native American or Pacific Islander 2.5%.
哈佛大学否认了这一点，并称亚裔学生的入学率有所上升。大学官网显示，亚裔学生目前占哈佛大学录取学生中的22.2%，非裔学生占14.6%，西班牙裔或拉丁裔学生占11.6%，美国本土或太平洋岛民学生占2.5%。
图源：Google
What did the SFFA say?
SFFA在申诉什么？
In a court motion in Boston on October 5, 2019, the group said evidence showed that Harvard "engages in racial balancing, uses race as far more than a 'plus' factor, and has no interest in exploring race-neutral alternatives".
在2019年10月5日波士顿的法庭动议中，SFFA组织称：“证据显示，哈佛大学致力于种族平衡，在录取学生时增加种族因素作为‘加分项*’的权重，并且没有兴趣寻找能更好代替种族因素的其他考量标准。”
译注：“加分项”是指美国法院通过平权法案帮助少数族裔的申请人进入大学裁决。
“What Harvard will not admit is that race is not only an important factor, it is the dominant consideration in admitting Hispanics and African-Americans," the SFFA said.“An Asian-American applicant with 25% chance of admission, for example, would have a 35% chance if he were white, 75% if he were Hispanic, and 95% chance if he were African-American."
“哈佛大学不承认的是，种族不只是录取的重要因素，而且是录取西班牙裔和非裔学生的主要考虑因素。”SFFA说，“比如说，一个亚裔申请者有25%的录取机会，如果他是白人，就有35%的机会；是西班牙裔，就有75%的机会；是非洲裔，就有95%的机会。”
It also claimed that Harvard had come to the same conclusions in its own research in 2013 - but had buried the report.
它还声称，哈佛大学在2013年的研究中也得出了相同结论——但却雪藏了这份报告。
图源:BBC.com
How did Harvard respond?
哈佛大学是如何回应的？
The university denied the allegations, saying the SFFA's analysis was flawed in a number of ways and therefore misleading.
哈佛大学否认了这些指控，称SFFA的分析在很多方面存在缺陷，因此具有误导性。
"Thorough and comprehensive analysis of the data and evidence makes clear that Harvard College does not discriminate against applicants from any group, including Asian-Americans, whose rate of admission has grown 29% over the last decade," Harvard said in a statement, the New York Times reports.
据《纽约时报》报道，哈佛大学声明：“所有数据都能证明，哈佛大学没有歧视任何群体的申请人，包括亚裔学生，他们的录取率在过去十年中增长了29%。”
Chief Justice John Roberts asked if, under Harvard's policies, the black student would receive "a tip" or "a benefit" due to his stated race.”"It is simply not the case that every black applicant gets a quote, 'tip,'" replied lawyer Seth Waxman, who represents the school.
首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨（John Roberts）问道：“在哈佛的政策下，黑人学生是否会因为种族而得到‘优待’或‘好处’？”代表哈佛的律师塞斯·卫斯曼（Seth Waxman）回答说：“不存在每个黑人申请者都能得到‘优待’的情况。”
In legal filings, Harvard denied discrimination and argued it uses an applicant's race as one of several factors - including economic status and religious belief - in order to build classes that accurately represent the racial and ethnic diversity of the country. "Americans have come to view diversity as integral to learning and to trust that the path to leadership is open to all," lawyers representing Harvard University wrote in a court filing.
在法律文件中，哈佛大学否认了歧视，并辩称将申请人的种族作为考虑因素之一——包括经济地位和宗教信仰——是为了建立富有国家、种族代表性和民族多样性的班级。哈佛大学的律师也在一份法庭文件中写道：“美国人将多样性视为学习的重要组成部分，并相信通往领导层的道路向所有人开放。”
图源:BBC.com
Should the US Supreme Court overturn affirmative action?
美国最高法院该不该推翻平权法案？
平权法案
Affirmative action is among the most contentious issues in US education.
平权法案是美国教育中最有争议的问题之一。
Overruling precedent-setting cases on affirmative action, Harvard said, "would undermine the public's faith in those foundational principles".
哈佛大学表示：“推翻关于平权法案的政策，会破坏公众对这些基本原则的信心。”
Opinion polls show varied attitudes towards affirmative action, often depending on how the question is framed.
民意调查显示，人们对平权法案的态度各不相同，主要取决于如何对问题进行设计描述。
A 2021 Gallup poll found that 62% of Americans were in favour of affirmative action programmes. A separate poll released by the Pew Research Center earlier this year, however, found that 74% of Americans - including a majority of black or Latino respondents - believed that race should not be factored into college admissions processes.
2021年的一项盖洛普民意调查（Gallup poll）*显示，62%的美国人赞成平权法案。然而，皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center）今年早些时候发布的另一项民意调查显示，74%的美国人——包括大多数黑人或拉丁裔受访者——认为“种族”不应该被纳入大学录取的考虑因素。
译注：盖洛普民意调查（Gallup poll），是指由盖洛普设计的用以调查民众的看法、意见和心态的一种测试方法。它根据年龄、性别、教育程度、职业、经济收入、宗教信仰等六个标准，在美国各州进行抽样问卷调查或电话访谈，然后对所得材料进行统计分析，得出结果。
Proponents of affirmative action say that it helps rectify societal, economic, and historical inequities that prevent some minority groups from gaining access to the most elite educational institutions in the US.
支持平权行动的人说，平权法案有助于纠正社会、经济和历史上的不平等。这些不平等导致一些少数群体无法进入美国的精英教育机构。
But critics have long argued that considering race in university admissions is discriminatory, and that these policies come at the expense of other groups or individual students.
但长期以来批评者一直认为，在大学招生中考虑种族因素是歧视性的，这些政策是以牺牲其他群体或个别学生为代价的。
The case the Supreme Court just agreed to consider are direct assaults on that legal framework, which has been stable for several decades. What's more, it could shake up the college admissions process not just for public institutions, but for all universities, including the nation's most prestigious private colleges.
最高法院刚刚同意审理的案件是对法律框架的直接攻击，这个框架已经稳定了数十年。更重要的是，它不仅会改变公立院校的录取程序，更会动摇包括最著名的私立大学在内的所有大学的录取程序。
图源:网络
难点词汇
·discriminatory
adj. 歧视的;不公平的
【例句】：These reforms will abolish racially discriminatory laws.
·flawed
adj. 有缺点的；错误的；有缺陷的
【例句】：These tests were so seriously flawed as to render the results meaningless.
原文链接：
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60116884
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44505355
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-63394285
编译 | 夏依旦
排版 | 夏依旦
