NEW YORK — When affirmative action was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2023New York lawmakers renewed an effort to end another policy: inheritance recording. They claim it is not only old-fashioned, but also racist and discriminatory.
State Senator Andrew Gounardes does co-sponsored a bill to end probate withdrawals in New York State.
“It’s positive discrimination for privileged children,” he said. “The lack of data and transparency further complicates this picture, making it even more difficult to uncover what is happening here, what is stacking the deck.”
“This is an inherently racist policy that disproportionately benefits the wealthy, so we believe this is the fair way to level the playing field for all students,” said Jacquelyn Martell of Education Reform Now New York.
John Morganelli, director of college admissions for Ivy Tutors Network, helps students get into college for a living, but was previously director of admissions at Cornell. He says inheritance isn’t the most common indicator of privilege he sees.
“High school counselors are picking up the phone and calling their counterparts at the schools and advocating on behalf of specific students. I think this is one of the most egregious practices in college admissions, and it is widespread across the country,” he said.
Maria Reyes is the valedictorian of her high school and has a variety of extracurriculars and nine AP courses under her belt, but she says she was rejected from the first six colleges she applied to. Reyes says she began to wonder if the problem was something out of her control.
“I was obviously very upset,” she said. “When I thought about the legacy, it was a little daunting… Maybe this isn’t about me. This is more about a weird admissions process.”
Reyes will never know why Yale, Harvard and Brown didn’t accept her. She will attend Cornell in the fall, where she plans to study to become a veterinarian. Regardless, Reyes says a student’s application should be about the student, not his/her family.
The state legislative session ends Friday.
Doug Williams
