Press Releases
10/08/2020
Attorney General Tong Statement Regarding Baseless Trump Administration Lawsuit Against Yale University
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement regarding the baseless lawsuit filed tonight by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to undermine Yale University’s admissions decisions:“This lawsuit is as baseless as it is offensive, and every aspect of it demonstrates complete and utter overreach. My office is exploring all legal avenues to support Yale University and its students. The Department of Justice action deviates starkly from decades of well-established legal precedent and threatens to disrupt admissions practices at hundreds of universities nationwide,” said Attorney General Tong. “Diversity matters. Equity and inclusion matter. Each and every one of us benefits from listening to the perspectives and experiences of those who are different from us. As a nation, we have failed to foster those conversations and have allowed far too many of our communities to persist in an unacceptable stasis of separate and unequal. Universities are not immune from systemic racism and other institutional inequality, and their efforts to confront our shared failings should be supported—not targeted. The timing and motivations behind this lawsuit are clear—to foment more hate and division on the eve of an election. As an Asian-American, this action is deeply offensive. It is shamefully ironic that this Administration purportedly seeks to take up the cause of Asian-American students after spending months actively inciting violence and hatred against the Asian-American community. This Administration has fully embraced its racist mantle as the last gasp of this failing Presidency.”
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