During Wednesday’s House Education Committee hearing, Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) questioned Dr. Shaun Harper, Provost Professor of Education and Public Policy and Business at the University of Southern California, about diversity in higher education.
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00:00I recognize my friend from Missouri, Ms. Andrew.
00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.
00:08You know, I would like to echo something that Congressman Grothman said earlier.
00:13I truly believe that the United States is one of the most fair, most equitable, least racist societies ever to exist on this earth.
00:23The progress that we have made, although we are not there perfectly in 250 years, is just overwhelming.
00:35I heard earlier from one of the Democrat members of this committee, DEI efforts level the playing field.
00:40I would submit that in many times, pernicious discrimination on race, even if you label it some sanitary condition like DEI,
00:49it's still pernicious discrimination based on race.
00:53Mr. Harper, let me ask you, is it fair to discriminate against Asian students?
01:01No.
01:02Is it fair to admit a student of different ethnicity over an Asian student who is more qualified and has better test scores?
01:16The answer categorically is no, but I will also say, what do you mean by more qualified?
01:24Are we talking just test scores?
01:25Better grades, better ACT scores, better SAT scores.
01:30You see, the research makes, again, irrefutably clear that holistic admissions that consider factors inclusive of high school GPA and test scores are important.
01:43So let me ask you, Mr. Harper, have you ever heard of a Supreme Court decision called Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard?
01:52Of course I have.
01:53And your employer is USC?
01:56Of course it is.
01:57Are you abiding by that decision?
01:59As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I am representing myself.
02:04I am not a spokesperson for the University of Southern California.
02:07You draw a paycheck from the University of Southern California.
02:10I am not here as a representative.
02:12I know that.
02:12Do you, yes or no, draw a paycheck from the University of Southern California?
02:16Of course I do.
02:17And what is your position at the University of Southern California?
02:20I am a tenured professor in three schools there.
02:22Okay.
02:23So in, are you, do you have any administrative position?
02:27I do not.
02:28You do not.
02:29Is USC abiding by Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard or do people, people who have your opinion about these issues, are they looking for ways to get around the laws enunciated by the Harvard case?
02:45Two things.
02:46First, I have come in here standing on 50 years of research.
02:50I have not brought my opinion to this hearing.
02:53And secondly, for maybe the fifth time, I am here representing myself.
02:58I am not here as a spokesperson of USC.
03:02Let me read to you a quote you may have heard of.
03:05Maybe you haven't.
03:06It goes something like this.
03:07I have a dream.
03:08I have a dream that someday my little children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
03:16Do you agree with that quote?
03:19I absolutely agree with that quote for those who understand what Martin Luther King actually meant by it.
03:27So what he meant, what he meant?
03:29Martin Luther King Jr.: He was staunchly opposed to racism, he was staunchly opposed to poverty, he was staunchly opposed to discrimination.
03:40So when Asian students are discriminated against and not admitted to Harvard, even though by traditional criteria, including grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, isn't that discrimination?
03:56Martin Luther King Jr.: The Supreme Court decided it was.
03:59You disagree, it seems.
04:00Martin Luther King Jr.: I don't disagree.
04:03What I am saying to you, as a person who has worked professionally in college admissions, I understand from my professional standpoint that admissions is not just about standardized test scores.
04:19Martin Luther King Jr.: You said that.
04:20So do you believe standardized tests are discriminatory?
04:23Martin Luther King Jr.: Some research.
04:26Martin Luther King Jr.: Do they have any use at all?
04:30Because there is abundant research that they correlate very well with student performance, with grades, and with graduation rates.
04:37Should standardized tests be discarded?
04:40Martin Luther King Jr.: For the record, it should be noted that that evidence is indeed mixed.
04:44Martin Luther King Jr.: That's mixed.
04:45So someone with a perfect ACT score is no more likely to graduate from Harvard or any place, community college, than someone who has a lower standardized test score?
05:00Martin Luther King Jr.: Yeah, no, I think this is a really important question, as I attempt, once again, to help us all understand what the research shows about holistic admissions.
05:09It's not just high school grades and test scores that determines who ultimately succeeds at America's colleges and universities.
05:16Martin Luther King Jr.: Pernicious discrimination on the basis of race is pernicious discrimination on the basis of race.
05:22Thank you, I yield back.
05:26I'd like now to recognize my friend from California, Mr. Solner.
05:29Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:31So many thoughts come to mind listening to this.
05:37George Santayana, Harvard professor, his famous quote,
05:41For those people who forget for those,
05:43any other names,
05:44what they want to know for the famous quote for those people who forget to...