Harvard’s Mixed Victory

Last time U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard in a case about the university’s alleged discrimination, it ended with the Supreme Court declaring race-conscious admissions unlawful at schools across the country. Harvard won its battle in the lower court on the way to losing the broader war. As it turns out, the same federal law at issue in the affirmative-action case, Title VI, is a basis of Harvard’s challenge to the Trump Administration’s freezing and terminating of nearly $2.2 billion in federal grants to the university this past spring. On Wednesday, Judge Burroughs gave Harvard a win that vindicated broad principles at stake for universities and the rule of law. But the victory will not end Harvard’s pain, and it remains to be seen whether higher education can t