Filings Provide Look at How Harvard Uses Race in Admissions

Harvard University (MA) and the organization accusing it of discriminating against Asian-American applicants each say race plays a role in the school’s admissions decisions, but disagree about whether that constitutes evidence of illegal bias, according to court documents filed Friday.  The filings are part of a lawsuit in Boston federal court brought against Harvard in 2014 by Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit whose members include Asian-Americans who were denied admission to Harvard. The motions are effectively a preview for the trial in the case, which begins in October.