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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsEducationHigher educationAffirmative ActionMeritocracyCollege AdmissionsLegacy Admissions•••Started 4mos agoActive 2 days ago

Should universities be prohibited from giving preference to applicants whose parents are alumni?

Commonly referred to as "Legacy Admissions," this practice gives a statistical boost to applicants whose parents graduated from the same institution. Following the Supreme Court's ban on race-based Affirmative Action, activists are now targeting legacy preference as a form of hereditary aristocracy that disproportionately favors wealthy white families. Universities contend that legacy students help build multi-generational community and encourage the massive alumni donations needed to subsidize tuition for lower-income students. Proponents of a ban argue this restores meritocracy to higher education by leveling the playing field. Opponents argue this violates the freedom of private association and will decimate the university endowments that fund financial aid.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 5.1k America voters.

58%
Yes
42%
No
47%
Yes
35%
No
8%
Yes, admissions must be based strictly on merit rather than family wealth or lineage
5%
No, private universities are independent institutions with the right to select students as they choose
4%
Yes, legacy preference is "affirmative action for the rich" that rigs the system against the working class
2%
No, alumni donations are necessary to fund scholarships for low-income students

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 5.1k America voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @BC23M5W from Arizona  answered…3mos3MO

Yes, as legacy preference is nothing more than the bourgeoisie waging class warfare against the proletariat by rigging the system.

 @BF277M3 from Alabama  answered…2 days2D

Yes, if "affirmative action" is wrong that you should not support this because it is "affirmative action" for the rich (I didn't agree with the "rigs system against working class part). Just because your mother or father went there does not mean you deserve to go there over the next person.

 @BDZ686K from Ohio  answered…5 days5D

Only if the university in question is receiving state funds.

 @BDVQBNC from Maine  answered…2wks2W

No as long as that's not the only reason they're accepted.

 @BDBW7LC from Georgia  answered…1mo1MO

No, but universities that do this should place a clearly legible and plainly-worded disclaimer that they give preference to children of alumni on all application forms, to prevent students from wasting their time and money.

 @BNStrauss from Hawaii  answered…1mo1MO

Yes, unless those universities receive no public money.

 @BDXTRGJ from Texas  answered…1wk1W

How is this different from DEI? Giving preferential treatment to alumni is the same thing as giving preference to someone on the basis of gender, religion, etc.

 @BDW83PN  from Minnesota  answered…2wks2W

No, but they should try to reduce it

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

A Moment of Darkness': Washington Post's No-Endorsement Decision Ignites Media Firestorm

Even though the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is neck and neck, The Washington Post has decided not to make a presidential endorsement for the first time in 36 years, the publisher and CEO announced Friday."We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates," Will Lewis wrote in an opinion piece published on the paper's website. He referenced the paper's policy in the decades prior to 1976, when, following the Watergate scandal that the Post broke, it endorsed Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. The last time the Post did not endorse a presidential candidate in the general election was 1988, according to a search of its archives.Colleagues learned the news from the editorial page editor, David Shipley, at a tense meeting shortly before Lewis' announcement. The meeting was characterized by someone with direct knowledge of discussions on condition of anonymity to speak about internal matters.Shipley said that he told other editorial board leaders Thursday by management that there would be no endorsement, though he has known for weeks. He added that he "owns" this decision. The reason he cited was to create "independent space" where the newspaper does not tell people for whom to vote.Colleagues were said to be "shocked" and uniformly negative. Post corporate spokespeople have not responded to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump's presidency, denounced the decision starkly."This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty," Baron said in a statement to NPR. "Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage."A similar decision by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong led this week to the resignations of the paper's editorials editor and two editorial board members. Soon-Shiong said that he had asked the editorial board to draft a "factual analysis" of Trump and Harris' policies and plans. In her resignation letter, editorials editor Mariel Garza said the decision made the paper look “craven and hypocritical,” given its past reporting and editorials on Trump.

▲  1013 replies

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should universities be prohibited from giving preference to applicants whose parents are alumni?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/5544372387

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