Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College et al

Filing 421

DECLARATION re 412 MOTION for Summary Judgment by Students for Fair Admissions, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6, # 7 Exhibit 7, # 8 Exhibit 8, # 9 Exhibit 9, # 10 Exhibit 10, # 11 Exhibit 11, # 12 Exhibit 12, # 13 Exhibit 13, # 14 Exhibit 14, # 15 Exhibit 15, # 16 Exhibit 16, # 17 Exhibit 17, # 18 Exhibit 18, # 19 Exhibit 19, # 20 Exhibit 20, # 21 Exhibit 21, # 22 Exhibit 22, # 23 Exhibit 23, # 24 Exhibit 24, # 25 Exhibit 25, # 26 Exhibit 26, # 27 Exhibit 27, # 28 Exhibit 28, # 29 Exhibit 29, # 30 Exhibit 30, # 31 Exhibit 31, # 32 Exhibit 32, # 33 Exhibit 33, # 34 Exhibit 34, # 35 Exhibit 35, # 36 Exhibit 36, # 37 Exhibit 37, # 38 Exhibit 38, # 39 Exhibit 39, # 40 Exhibit 40, # 41 Exhibit 41, # 42 Exhibit 42, # 43 Exhibit 43, # 44 Exhibit 44, # 45 Exhibit 45, # 46 Exhibit 46, # 47 Exhibit 47, # 48 Exhibit 48, # 49 Exhibit 49, # 50 Exhibit 50, # 51 Exhibit 51, # 52 Exhibit 52, # 53 Exhibit 53, # 54 Exhibit 54, # 55 Exhibit 55, # 56 Exhibit 56, # 57 Exhibit 57, # 58 Exhibit 58, # 59 Exhibit 59, # 60 Exhibit 60, # 61 Exhibit 61, # 62 Exhibit 62, # 63 Exhibit 63, # 64 Exhibit 64, # 65 Exhibit 65, # 66 Exhibit 66, # 67 Exhibit 67, # 68 Exhibit 68, # 69 Exhibit 69, # 70 Exhibit 70, # 71 Exhibit 71, # 72 Exhibit 72, # 73 Exhibit 73, # 74 Exhibit 74, # 75 Exhibit 75, # 76 Exhibit 76, # 77 Exhibit 77, # 78 Exhibit 78, # 79 Exhibit 79, # 80 Exhibit 80, # 81 Exhibit 81, # 82 Exhibit 82, # 83 Exhibit 83, # 84 Exhibit 84, # 85 Exhibit 85, # 86 Exhibit 86, # 87 Exhibit 87, # 88 Exhibit 88, # 89 Exhibit 89, # 90 Exhibit 90, # 91 Exhibit 91, # 92 Exhibit 92, # 93 Exhibit 93, # 94 Exhibit 94, # 95 Exhibit 95, # 96 Exhibit 96, # 97 Exhibit 97, # 98 Exhibit 98, # 99 Exhibit 99, # 100 Exhibit 100, # 101 Exhibit 101, # 102 Exhibit 102, # 103 Exhibit 103, # 104 Exhibit 104, # 105 Exhibit 105, # 106 Exhibit 106, # 107 Exhibit 107, # 108 Exhibit 108, # 109 Exhibit 109, # 110 Exhibit 110, # 111 Exhibit 111, # 112 Exhibit 112, # 113 Exhibit 113, # 114 Exhibit 114, # 115 Exhibit 115, # 116 Exhibit 116, # 117 Exhibit 117, # 118 Exhibit 118, # 119 Exhibit 119, # 120 Exhibit 120, # 121 Exhibit 121, # 122 Exhibit 122, # 123 Exhibit 123, # 124 Exhibit 124, # 125 Exhibit 125, # 126 Exhibit 126, # 127 Exhibit 127, # 128 Exhibit 128, # 129 Exhibit 129, # 130 Exhibit 130, # 131 Exhibit 131, # 132 Exhibit 132, # 133 Exhibit 133, # 134 Exhibit 134, # 135 Exhibit 135, # 136 Exhibit 136, # 137 Exhibit 137, # 138 Exhibit 138, # 139 Exhibit 139, # 140 Exhibit 140, # 141 Exhibit 141, # 142 Exhibit 142, # 143 Exhibit 143, # 144 Exhibit 144, # 145 Exhibit 145, # 146 Exhibit 146, # 147 Exhibit 147, # 148 Exhibit 148, # 149 Exhibit 149, # 150 Exhibit 150, # 151 Exhibit 151, # 152 Exhibit 152, # 153 Exhibit 153, # 154 Exhibit 154, # 155 Exhibit 155, # 156 Exhibit 156, # 157 Exhibit 157, # 158 Exhibit 158, # 159 Exhibit 159, # 160 Exhibit 160, # 161 Exhibit 161, # 162 Exhibit 162, # 163 Exhibit 163, # 164 Exhibit 164, # 165 Exhibit 165, # 166 Exhibit 166, # 167 Exhibit 167, # 168 Exhibit 168, # 169 Exhibit 169, # 170 Exhibit 170, # 171 Exhibit 171, # 172 Exhibit 172, # 173 Exhibit 173, # 174 Exhibit 174, # 175 Exhibit 175, # 176 Exhibit 176, # 177 Exhibit 177, # 178 Exhibit 178, # 179 Exhibit 179, # 180 Exhibit 180, # 181 Exhibit 181, # 182 Exhibit 182, # 183 Exhibit 183, # 184 Exhibit 184, # 185 Exhibit 185, # 186 Exhibit 186, # 187 Exhibit 187, # 188 Exhibit 188, # 189 Exhibit 189, # 190 Exhibit 190, # 191 Exhibit 191, # 192 Exhibit 192, # 193 Exhibit 193, # 194 Exhibit 194, # 195 Exhibit 195, # 196 Exhibit 196, # 197 Exhibit 197, # 198 Exhibit 198, # 199 Exhibit 199, # 200 Exhibit 200, # 201 Exhibit 201, # 202 Exhibit 202, # 203 Exhibit 203, # 204 Exhibit 204, # 205 Exhibit 205, # 206 Exhibit 206, # 207 Exhibit 207, # 208 Exhibit 208, # 209 Exhibit 209, # 210 Exhibit 210, # 211 Exhibit 211, # 212 Exhibit 212, # 213 Exhibit 213, # 214 Exhibit 214, # 215 Exhibit 215, # 216 Exhibit 216, # 217 Exhibit 217, # 218 Exhibit 218, # 219 Exhibit 219, # 220 Exhibit 220, # 221 Exhibit 221, # 222 Exhibit 222, # 223 Exhibit 223, # 224 Exhibit 224, # 225 Exhibit 225, # 226 Exhibit 226, # 227 Exhibit 227, # 228 Exhibit 228, # 229 Exhibit 229, # 230 Exhibit 230, # 231 Exhibit 231, # 232 Exhibit 232, # 233 Exhibit 233, # 234 Exhibit 234, # 235 Exhibit 235, # 236 Exhibit 236, # 237 Exhibit 237, # 238 Exhibit 238, # 239 Exhibit 239, # 240 Exhibit 240, # 241 Exhibit 241, # 242 Exhibit 242, # 243 Exhibit 243, # 244 Exhibit 244, # 245 Exhibit 245, # 246 Exhibit 246, # 247 Exhibit 247, # 248 Exhibit 248, # 249 Exhibit 249, # 250 Exhibit 250, # 251 Exhibit 251, # 252 Exhibit 252, # 253 Exhibit 253, # 254 Exhibit 254, # 255 Exhibit 255, # 256 Exhibit 256, # 257 Exhibit 257, # 258 Exhibit 258, # 259 Exhibit 259, # 260 Exhibit 260, # 261 Exhibit 261)(Consovoy, William) (Additional attachment(s) added on 6/18/2018: # 262 Unredacted version of Declaration, # 263 Exhibit 1 (filed under seal), # 264 Exhibit 2 (filed under seal), # 265 Exhibit 5 (filed under seal), # 266 Exhibit 6 (filed under seal), # 267 Exhibit 7 (filed under seal), # 268 Exhibit 8 (filed under seal), # 269 Exhibit 9 (filed under seal), # 270 Exhibit 10 (filed under seal)) (Montes, Mariliz). (Additional attachment(s) added on 6/18/2018: # 271 Exhibit 11 (filed under seal), # 272 Exhibit 12(filed under seal), # 273 Exhibit 13 (filed under seal), # 274 Exhibit 14 (filed under seal), # 275 Exhibit 16 (filed under seal), # 276 Exhibit 17(filed under seal), # 277 Exhibit 18(filed under seal), # 278 Exhibit 19 (filed under seal), # 279 Exhibit 20 (filed under seal), # 280 Exhibit 22 (filed under seal), # 281 Exhibit 23 (filed under seal), # 282 Exhibit 24 (filed under seal), # 283 Exhibit 25(filed under seal), # 284 Exhibit 26 (filed under seal), # 285 Exhibit 28 (filed under seal), # 286 Exhibit 29 (filed under seal), # 287 Exhibit 31 (filed under seal), # 288 Exhibit 32 (filed under seal), # 289 Exhibit 33 (filed under seal), # 290 Exhibit 35 (filed under seal), # 291 Exhibit 36 (filed under seal), # 292 Exhibit 37 (filed under seal), # 293 Exhibit 38(filed under seal), # 294 Exhibit 39 (filed under seal), # 295 Exhibit 40 (filed under seal), # 296 Exhibit 41, # 297 Exhibit 42 (filed under seal), # 298 Exhibit 43 (filed under seal), # 299 Exhibit 44(filed under seal), # 300 Exhibit 45 (filed under seal), # 301 Exhibit 46 (filed under seal), # 302 Exhibit 47 (filed under seal), # 303 Exhibit 48 (filed under seal), # 304 Exhibit 51 (filed under seal)) (Montes, Mariliz).

EXHIBIT 15

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Page 1

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

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STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS,
INC.,

)
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
) Civil Action No.
vs.
) 1:14-cv-14176-ADB
)
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF
)
HARVARD COLLEGE (HARVARD
)
CORPORATION),
)
)
Defendant.
)
-------------------------------)

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HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY

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DEPOSITION OF CHRISTINA LOPEZ

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New York, New York

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Monday, May 22, 2017

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Reported by: FRANCIS X. FREDERICK, CSR, RPR, RMR

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Job No: 124550
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C. LOPEZ
respective dean and director of admissions.
Q.

So for member organizations is

4

there typically a single institutional

5

liaison?

6

A.

Correct.

7

Q.

Are admissions deans or directors

8
9
10

of admission also members of ABAFAOILSS?
A.

I'm a director of admission.

I am

a member.

11

Q.

12

liaison, then?

13

A.

Correct.

14

Q.

Does your college also have an

15

So are you not institutional

institutional liaison?

16

A.

Correct.

17

Q.

Do you know if Harvard's dean or

18

director of admissions is a member of

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ABAFAOILSS?

20

A.

Not to my knowledge, no.

21

Q.

In a case where a member's dean or

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director of admissions is not a member of

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ABAFAOILSS, the institutional liaison's role

24

then is to be a contact between ABAFAOILSS and

25

the dean or director of admissions, then,

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C. LOPEZ

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correct?

3

A.

Yes.

4

Q.

Do you see in the second paragraph

5

it says:

6

provide updates to the deans.

7

receive a copy of the update in a separate

8

e-mail communication prior to it being sent to

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the deans.

"The Ivy and Sister co-chairs will
The IL will

It is the IL's responsibility to

10

communicate with his or her dean and directors

11

after meetings and after receiving copies of

12

these updates."

13

Do you see that?

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A.

Yes.

15

Q.

Did I read that correctly?

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A.

Yes.

17

Q.

What does that mean?

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A.

After the meeting the co-chairs

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will typically send a breakdown of what

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happened in the meeting to update them on just

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the general topics of the meeting.

22

will get this in a separate communication

23

before it is sent to the deans.

24
25

Q.

The ILs

So it's the responsibility of the

ILs to provide the information about what

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C. LOPEZ

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those meetings?

3

A.

No.

4

Q.

They cover the same types of

5

topics and information?

6

A.

For the most part, yes.

7

Q.

Is there a separate group for

8

deans and directors of admissions --

9

A.

No.

10

Q.

-- in ABAFAOILSS?

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I'm sorry.

12

A.

No.

13

Q.

I want to ask a few questions

14

about the Round Robin meetings.

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Round Robin meetings?

16

A.

What are the

Round Robin is a separate -- it is

17

a part of our meetings where we share

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enrollment and application numbers.

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20
21

Q.

And what is the purpose of a Round

A.

The purpose is to share best

Robin?

22

practices as well as recruitment information

23

across institutions.

24
25

Q.

And what types of numbers are

shared at the Round Robin meetings?

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C. LOPEZ

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A.

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enrolls.

4

Q.

And --

5

A.

For each institution.

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by race.

7

Q.

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at Round Robin?

9

12
13

Objection.

MR. SPONZILLI:
objection.
A.

Broken out

And why is that information shared

MS. MOONEY:

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11

Applications and admits and

I join the

You may answer.

To share best practices and

recruitment strategies across institutions.

14

Q.

Well, I guess I'm focusing on the

15

numbers.

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different piece of information than best

17

practices; is it not?

It sounds different -- like a

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MS. MOONEY:

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MR. SPONZILLI:

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Argumentative.

Objection.
Objection.

You may answer.

21

A.

They are one in the same.

22

Q.

How do numbers about a school's

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admissions, acceptances and enrollees inform

24

an institution's best practices?

25

MS. MOONEY:

Objection.

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C. LOPEZ

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Q.

And then go across Asian, same

4

A.

Correct.

5

Q.

And then through the totals at the

7

A.

Correct.

8

Q.

Okay.

3

6

9

thing?

end.

And was it just a listing

of the numbers or is there commentary along

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the way?

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A.

12
13

At this point they list the

number.
Q.

And then when the first IL is

14

done, does the next one -- I guess here from

15

Brown, just do the same thing?

16

A.

If they are present, yes.

17

Q.

And you mentioned that

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institutional liaisons were not permitted to

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attend if they were not sharing these numbers;

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is that right?

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A.

Correct.

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Q.

Did that ever happen?

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MS. MOONEY:

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MR. SPONZILLI:

25

Objection.
Did what ever

happen?

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C. LOPEZ

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Q.

Okay.

So going back to the format

3

of the meeting, the institutional

4

representatives from each of the schools would

5

proceed in order to read out the numbers; is

6

that right?

7

A.

Yes.

8

Q.

And that would go until I guess

9
10

the end of the second page -- or third page,
I'm sorry.

Yale is the last one?

11

A.

Yes.

12

Q.

And so during that time it was

13

just calling out numbers?

14

A.

Yes.

15

Q.

And during that process do people

16

who are attending the meeting fill in the

17

chart?

18

A.

Yes.

19

Q.

And are the numbers aggregate

20

numbers or percentages?

21

A.

They are aggregate numbers?

22

Q.

Is there any -- well, let's get to

23

the end.

24

typically take then, just the reading of the

25

numbers?

So how long did that process

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MR. SPONZILLI:
and answered.

Objection.

Asked

You may answer it again.

4

Q.

Just the reading of the numbers.

5

A.

It depends on the number of ILs

6

who are present.

7

or so.

8
9

Q.

It can take about 30 minutes

So then if the meeting I think you

said is about an hour, what happens in the

10

second half of the meeting after the numbers

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are read out?

12

A.

Any discussion.

13

Q.

And who leads that discussion?

14

A.

No one leads the discussion.

15

Q.

How does the discussion proceed

A.

Someone will ask a question that

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17
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19
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then?

starts a discussion.
Q.

So it's just free-flowing

discussion.

21

A.

Correct.

22

Q.

And as a co-chair you didn't have

23

any role in guiding the discussion or cutting

24

it off or moderating?

25

A.

No.

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C. LOPEZ

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Q.

And how did the meeting conclude?

3

A.

When the discussion ended, they

5

Q.

Okay.

6

A.

There's usually a time frame for

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left.

7

Round Robin.

8

over, they leave to join the membership for

9

the meeting.

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11
12

Q.

When the allotted time frame is

And what types of topics were

covered in that discussion portion?
A.

As I mentioned, recruitment

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strategy as well as group travel that schools

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have participated in.

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practices that correlated with their numbers.

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Questions that they may have had about any of

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the enrollment numbers.

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Q.

Okay.

Any sort of best

Would there be discussion

19

if any of the numbers are unusual, too high or

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too low?

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MS. MOONEY:

Objection.

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MR. SPONZILLI:

Objection as to

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the form of the question.

24

answer.

25

A.

You may

I can't ascertain if they would be

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C. LOPEZ

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that specific.

3

give context so if there was a question about

4

a recruitment strategy, they would have

5

numbers to correlate with that question.

6
7

Q.

But the recruitment numbers

What do you mean by recruitment

number?

8

A.

Recruitment strategy.

9

Q.

Okay.

10
11

And what do you mean by

recruitment strategy?
A.

Meaning -- institutions have

12

recruitment strategies.

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they going to, are they hitting certain

14

community-based organizations.

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group travel in certain areas that they didn't

16

go before, et cetera.

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different schools that are producing strong

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applicants.

19

Q.

Okay.

So which states are

Are they doing

Are they finding

Do you know if it was ever

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discussed in the Round Robin meeting whether

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certain numbers were too high or too low?

22

A.

No.

23

MS. MOONEY:

24

MR. SPONZILLI:

25

Q.

Objection.
Same objection.

No, you don't know or no, that was

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not discussed?

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A.

No, I cannot recall.

4

Q.

In the meeting that you attended

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A.

In the meeting that I attended.

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Q.

How would an attendee at this

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or --

8

meeting know the significance of the numbers

9

from other institutions?

So, for example, if

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these are -- I think you said these are just

11

absolute numbers and not percentages?

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MR. SPONZILLI:

13

the word "aggregate."

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MR. PARK:

15

MR. SPONZILLI:

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Aggregate.

I'm sorry.

Which was in the

form of your question you asked that.

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MR. PARK:

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19

I think she used

Q.
thing.

Okay.

Is there any -- strike that whole

Let me start over.

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Is there any context provided as

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part of the discussion about the significance

22

of the numbers that are provided in this

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meeting?

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MS. MOONEY:

Objection.

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MR. SPONZILLI:

Join the

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