[guest post by Dana]

Speaking volumes. 2015 Grads Of Columbia University:

Speaking of Asians and universities, an Asian-American group is accusing Harvard of discrimination :

In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education and the Justice Department on Friday, the coalition of more than 60 groups claims that the university unfairly holds Asian-American applicants to a higher standard. Asian-Americans have the lowest acceptance rates at Harvard University and other elite universities, the complaint alleges, despite having some of the highest test scores and overall academic achievement.

“People from all over the world came to America for equal opportunities. We are trying to bring those principles back to America,” said Yukong Zhao, a Chinese-American author who helped organize the coalition. “This isn’t just about discrimination and race. It is about justice for everyone, including (people of) all races, and social and economic statuses.”

Harvard denies the accusations, claiming to be “fully compliant with the law.”

In an effort to maintain a diverse student body, the university uses a “holistic” approach to admissions, which includes reviewing the race of the applicant.

It is this “holistic” approach that is at the heart of the complaint:

In this approach, Harvard says it reviews each applicant’s background and personal characteristics, including — when relevant — the applicant’s race or ethnicity, as one of the many factors in its admissions process.

Chunyan Li, an assistant professor of accounting at Pace University who helped recruit groups to join last the complaint, said the university’s emphasis on race in the application process is unfair.

“This approach is subjective,” Li said. “If it is all implemented objectively, than how come all Asians on average have such higher scores? What’s the fairness in this? If (Harvard) pushes for (a) holistic approach, then make it fair. If you kept emphasizing race, then there is no way out.”

As the complaint moves forward, Harvard is standing by its approach to admissions:

“We will vigorously defend the right of Harvard, and other universities, to continue to seek the educational benefits that come from a class that is diverse on multiple dimensions,”

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

The New York Times provides a closer look at Hillary Clinton’s released emails. Unsurprisingly, just a few days after Clinton brushed off the possibility that Sidney Blumenthal was anything more than just an old friend to keep her from being caught in a bubble of public life, we find out he was far more than that. Without ever identifying the source, Clinton would forward his emails regarding Benghazi to her foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan, who would then forward them to other senior State Officials for feedback.

Note: “Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, said that Mr. Blumenthal had not been working for the government in any official capacity at the time and that his emails to Mrs. Clinton had not been solicited.”

On the Benghazi attacks:

The day after the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on American outposts in Benghazi that killed Mr. Stevens and three other Americans, Mr. Blumenthal sent Mrs. Clinton a memo with his intelligence about what had occurred. The memo said the attacks were by “demonstrators” who “were inspired by what many devout Libyan viewed as a sacrilegious internet video on the prophet Mohammed originating in America.”

The second day after the attacks:

In a second memo the next day, Blumenthal noted “sensitive sources” in Libya said Ansar al-Sharia, an Al Qaeda-backed terror group, had planned the attacks for a month and used the protest as a cover. That information contradicted the official White House narrative at the time about the attacks’ genesis.

“We should get this around asap” Mrs. Clinton said in an email to Mr. Sullivan.”

Further:

Blumenthal also flagged a Salon article for Clinton on Oct. 1, 2012, addressing the “Jimmy Carter Strategy,” that warned of the Republicans’ potential intent to exploit the Benghazi attacks to damage President Barack Obama a month before the election. Clinton then forwarded the message to Sullivan.

“Be sure Ben knows they need to be ready for this line of attack,” Clinton wrote, referencing deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

In another email, this one sent to chief of staff Cheryl Mills, Clinton noted an NPR report that refuted the earlier narrative that there had been a demonstration.

“I just heard an npr report about the CIA station chief in Tripoli sending a cable on 9/12 saying there was no demo etc. Do you know about this?” she wrote in an Oct. 19, 2012, message.

Mills responded: “Have not seen – will see if we can get.

–Dana