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A fresh and bold argument for revamping our standards of merit and a clear blueprint for creating collaborative education models that strengthen our democracy rather than privileging individual elitesStanding on the foundations of Americas promise of equal opportunity, our universities purport to serve as engines of social mobility and practitioners of democracy. But as acclaimed scholar and pioneering civil rights advocate Lani Guinier argues, the merit systems that dictate the admissions practices of these institutions are functioning to select and privilege elite individuals rather than create learning communities geared to advance democratic societies. Having studied and taught at schools such as Harvard University, Yale Law School, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Guinier has spent years examining the experiences of ethnic minorities and of women at the nations top institutions of higher education, and here she lays bare the practices that impede the stated missions of these schools.
