Rod Graham: The Case For Legacy Preference in College Admissions

Legacy students, applicants whose families attended the school, comprised 36 percent of Harvard's class of 2022. Notably, 77% of students admitted to Harvard via legacy preference are white. These days, however, the practice of giving legacy applicants a competitive edge over their peers in college admission decisions has come under fire. Last week on Sea Change Radio, we spoke with Law Professor John Brittain, from the University of the District of Columbia, who made the case for ending legacy preference in college admissions, asserting that it preserves wealth, power, and privilege. This week, we speak to Rod Graham, a sociology professor at Old Dominion University, who offers a contrasting perspective. Graham explains why he believes that legacy preference admissions should just be considered another factor that admissions officers should be free to consider, similar to how they may weigh an applicant's geography, race, athletic prowess, and other factors. Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise. Rod Graham (RG) | 00:19 - So we have what looks like a meritocracy because those kids earned their way there by doing the things to get there. But the people who went to the Ivy League schools in the seventies and eighties are sending their kids to Ivy League schools now, who will then send their kids to Ivy League schools later. Narrator | 00:38 - Legacy students, applicants whose families attended the school, comprised 36 percent of Harvard's class of 2022. Notably, 77% of students admitted to Harvard via legacy preference are white. These days, however, the practice of giving legacy applicants a competitive edge over their peers in college admission decisions has come under fire. Last week on Sea Change Radio, we spoke with Law Professor John Brittain, from the University of the District of Columbia, who made the case for ending legacy preference in college admissions, asserting that it preserves wealth, power, and privilege. This week, we speak to Rod Graham, a sociology professor at Old Dominion University, who offers a contrasting perspective. Graham explains why he believes that legacy preference admissions should just be considered another factor that admissions officers should be free to consider, similar to how they may weigh an applicant's geography, race, athletic prowess, and other factors. Alex Wise (AW) | 01:55 I am joined now on Sea Change Radio by Rod Graham. He is a sociology professor at Old Dominion University. Rod, welcome back to Sea Change Radio. Rod Graham (RG) | 02:12 - Hey, Alex. It's nice to be back. Alex Wise (AW) | 02:14 - I've missed you, my friend. And I wanted to discuss a piece that you wrote on your medium site. It was entitled, why I Support Legacy Admissions in Universities Instead of Me summarizing it. Why don't I first let you have the podium and explain the thinking behind this piece? Rod Graham (RG) | 02:34 - Yeah, sure. Well, I, I think that institutions, uh, particularly educational institutions should have some leeway in building the student body that they think fits their mission. Um, it's not absolute, but some leeway, right? So if it, if it is the case that, an institution says, look, you know, there are reasons why we need to have legacy admissions. I'm for that. It's the same reason actually why I'm for affirmative action, or I think in the piece, uh, that you mentioned, the example I gave was my university, which doesn't have to worry about legacy admissions really, uh, or affirmative action or any of those things. But we do have a large military, uh, presence in the community, and it's in our best interest to, in effect, have preferences for, uh, military affiliate affiliated people, veterans or active or even their, their family members. And so I think it's a good idea within reason for an institution to have military preferences, affirmative action, and then also legacy, uh, preferences.