[Jedster]

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Okay, so how about instead of outright prohibiting legacy admissions, the state conditions private institutions' tax-exempt status on their usage of legacy admissions?

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How about the state just stay out of it entirely?

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Because they are giving those institutions a benefit (tax exempt status) that they do not give to others. Why shouldn't they be able to condition that benefit?

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"Legacies" get preferred admission because their parents give the school a bunch of money. That money benefits other students in the form of better facilities and scholarships for some who may not have been able to go there without that money. All I can see here is benefits.

And if somebody wants to donate a ton of money to State U. with the (wink-wink) condition that his slacker kid gets admitted, I'm all for that too.

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I basically agree, but not because the school is private; rather it's because of the rationale which you describe. Some dolts think that just because an institution is private it should be able to do whatever it wants. Well, if it sucks on the public teat, I'm sorry, but it also needs to submit itself to the public good. In addition, if legacies are going to be given preferential treatment if their parents are big donors, then the school needs to have an affirmative action policy that helps kids get in whose parents are not wealthy and there needs to be financial aid for those less wealthy kids who do get in and can't afford to go. The policy should be focused on economic status, not other attributes.