Yale Rejects Former Taliban Official's Bid for Admission

Yale University has rejected an application for admission from a student who once served in Afghanistan’s Taliban regime but who for the last year has been taking courses in a nondegree program at Yale, a status that has drawn waves of criticism to the university (The Chronicle, May 4). According to today’s New York Times, 27-year-old Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi may continue in the nondegree program. The Times article also noted that admission for nontraditional students like him into Yale’s degree-granting program had suddenly become much more competitive. In previous years, up to 30 percent of applicants had been accepted. This year, however, just 7 percent were.