How committed is Harvard University to ensuring a diverse student body? Not very, according to critics of the school’s decision to rescind its offer of admissions to Michelle Jones. Jones applied to its Ph.D. program in American studies last year and was rewarded with a full scholarship by the department’s admissions committee, but that decision was overruled by the university’s administration after it learned more about her background. Until last month, Jones, a black woman, was in prison for the murder of her 4-year-old son more than two decades ago. Jones says the child was a product of nonconsensual sex Jones had when she was 14 with a high-school senior and that her mother beat her as a ...
