What started as a probe into the Yale School of Medicine admission’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices, has shifted to placing McInnis, the Ivy League’s 24th president, under a microscope. Alumni and students are awaiting her next move to determine if she will protect the integrity of the school’s diversity and freedom against a U.S. Department of Justice investigation.
The DOJ conducted a yearlong investigation showing that Black and brown students were accepted into the program even when findings proved test scores were the same. Research hasn’t shown an influx of minority students. A s a result, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the institution was in violation of the anti-discrimination clause of Title IV in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Of the 15,564 students enrolled at Yale, 41 percent are from minoritized backgrounds and 53 percent are classified at people of color. The leading ethnic group is Asian (24 percent) followed by Hispanic (15.1 percent), international (10.1 percent), and Black or African American (9.1 percent).
Current and former students have united to resist a proposed settlement that would change admission rules that continue “race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform,” according to the DOJ. McInnis hasn’t agreed to the settlement; however, the lack of pushback has left supporters concerned about what’s being discussed behind closed doors.
On a press call held July 9, Yale alumna and best-selling author Susan Choi said, “It’s critical to us that current and future students benefit from the same campus climate we experienced when we were students. A campus where freedom of inquiry and expression was so much a part of the bedrock and it’s possible that we took that for granted.”
Chen shared the students’ concerns and frustration during the call, saying, “If Yale settles, then what are they going to bargain away to placate the DOJ? Students that I represent will reject any settlement that bargains away our rights. Whether that’s free speech, the safety of international students, our student records, classroom curriculum, academic freedom, and our ability to express ourselves.”
Chen, a junior studying at Yale’s Morse College majoring in history and political science, said McInnis has a responsibility to protect students. “We are not ignorant to the pattern” the school’s president is following, he said, referencing a similar case at Northwestern University, where he says administration bargained away students’ free speech. The restriction removed their ability to place flyers around campus. Columbia University made a deal to release documentation and records of its international students. This came in response after the DOJ revealed antisemitic accusations in their investigation.
Chen shared a student’s story that echoes the nation’s treatment of immigrants and the political times of the U.S. “I’m reminded of an international student … who has not returned home for two years for fear that they may not be able to re-enter the United States,” he said. “They’ve expressed to me that they worry it’s their rights that Yale may bargain away.”
Yale is the most recent institution to fall under the pressure of the DOJ. Other schools have faced the department’s civil rights division, led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and have reached similar settlements to avoid loss of federal funding in contracts and grants.
Yale’s administration has hired the high-powered law firm, McGuireWoods of Virginia, who also helped the University of Virginia in 2025, settle their separate case against the DOJ. “This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored,” said Dhillon. This move can be taken as a sign that a settlement is on the horizon for the school, furthering the concern and disappointment of the university’s community.
