The Myth of Meritocracy Revisited: John Brittain on Legacy Preference (2017)

Longtime listeners know that Sea Change Radio is not a debate format - we do not generally provide a platform for climate change deniers or other purveyors of disinformation. But when it comes to certain topics, we do believe there is room for spirited discourse. Next week's guest will argue in favor of preserving legacy preferences in college admissions. In preparation for that conversation, and to provide context and a counterpoint, this week we are dipping into the Sea Change Radio archives to revisit our 2017 discussion with Prof. John Brittain. The official subject matter of Sea Change Radio is environmental sustainability. This week, however, we are deviating from that to talk about a topic that we believe is inextricably linked to sustainability: stratification in education. We are talking with law professor, civil rights advocate, and educational diversity expert, Prof. John C. Brittain, about educational practices that perpetuate social, racial, and socioeconomic exclusiveness. Elite private schools were once restricted to wealthy white young men. Since the 1960s we have seen some progress at these schools – they all admit women, most have scholarship programs to make room for the non-wealthy, and they generally boast of need-blind admissions practices. But there is one hidden practice, often overlooked, which runs counter to all of that progress: the practice of legacy admissions. That is, giving preference to applicants who have a family connection to the school. The majority of elite educational institutions in this country do this. For example, in 2017, a full 41% of Harvard’s incoming freshman were legacies. Logic tells us that generation after generation, this sort of admission preference can’t be doing much for these schools’ demographic diversity. Professor Brittain and host Alex Wise discuss how legacy admission practices serve as affirmative action for the privileged, the irony that the practice thrives in the United States which holds itself up as a model meritocracy and how schools’ justifications for the ongoing use of legacy preferences don’t hold up to a reasoned analysis. Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise.  John Brittain (JB) | 00:17 - At many elite post-secondary educational institutions, applicants with an alumni parent are accepted at two to three times the rate of those without leading one commentator to label legacy preference as the biggest affirmative action program and American higher education. Narrator (2024)| 00:41 Longtime listeners know that Sea Change Radio is not a debate format. We don't generally provide a platform for climate change deniers or other purveyors of disinformation, but when it comes to certain topics, we do believe there's room for spirited discourse. Next week's guest will argue in favor of preserving legacy preferences in college admissions in preparation for that conversation and to provide context and a counterpoint, this week we're dipping into the Sea Change Radio archives to revisit our discussion with Professor John Brittain. Narrator (2017) | 01:18 - The official subject matter of Sea Change Radio is environmental sustainability. This week, however, we're deviating from that to talk about a topic that we believe is inextricably linked to sustainability stratification in education. We're talking with law professor, civil rights advocate, and educational diversity expert John Brittain about educational practices that perpetuate social, racial and socioeconomic exclusiveness. Elite private schools were once restricted to wealthy white young men. Since the 1960s, we've seen some progress at these schools. They all admit women most have scholarship programs to make room for the non wealthy, and they generally boast of need blind admissions practices. But there is one hidden practice often overlooked, which runs counter to all of that progress, the practice of legacy admissions that is givi...