The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has launched an investigation into the University of Wisconsin-Madison over the anti-white racism of one of its popular fellowship programs.
The investigation was launched in response to a civil rights complaint filed in January by the Equal Protection Project (EPP) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation.
The Equal Protection Project @ProtectionEqual just received word today that OCR has opened a formal investigation, the first—but important—step in the process towards adjudication. https://t.co/yKWZ9dhgGA
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) March 26, 2024
The complaint alleges that the school’s Community-Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Fellows program discriminates against white students.
“The BIPOC Fellows program at UW-Madison makes clear that students who do not meet the prerequisite racial categories – for example, students who identify as white – are automatically ineligible,” the complaint reads.
“The discrimination is apparent: if applicants are African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic/Latino(a), or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, they are automatically eligible for the program. Applicants who do not fall into one of those racial categories are automatically excluded from consideration,” the complaint continues.
According to the complaint, this discrimination “violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (‘Title VI’) and its implementing regulations.”
OCR confirmed the launching of an investigation into the fellowship program in a letter sent on Monday to the EPP.
“OCR will investigate the following issue: Whether the University excluded applicants based on race, color and national origin from its Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Fellows fellowship program (Fellowship Program) in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of Title VI,” it reads.
However, the letter warns that just the opening of an investigation doesn’t mean OCR will ultimately rule against the school.
And considering that the OCR is currently being run by a rabidly left-wing administration that openly believes in discrimination by race, it’s indeed not clear anything will even come of this.
EPP founder William Jacobson is, nevertheless, pleased by this development.
“The opening of an investigation by OCR is an important first step in bringing accountability to the university for a program that on its face discriminates in favor of ‘BIPOC’ students, a racial and ethnic categorization,” he said in a statement to WisPolitics.
“The law requires equal protection for all students, regardless of race and ethnicity, and we hope that a full investigation and determination will uphold this principle,” he added.
.@ProtectionEqual Founder William Jacobson in a statement called the investigation an “important first step,” arguing the @UWMadison program #discriminates in favor of students of color.https://t.co/qDklxp5eNa
— WisPolitics.com (@wispolitics) March 26, 2024
The fellowship program was reportedly launched last August as a “cohort-based program that convenes monthly to connect undergraduate Students of Color who are currently, or striving to, participate in community engagement.”
The program’s stated mission is to “center and empower the strengths of BIPOC undergraduate students partaking in critical community-engaged work as well as provide opportunities for community building, collaboration, support, and personal/professional development.”
Jacobson doesn’t care for any of this.
“The harm from racial educational barriers is that it racializes not just the specific program, but the entire campus,” he told the Washington Examiner. “Sending a message to students that access to opportunities is dependent on race is damaging to the fabric of campus.”
In a separate statement to Fox News, Jacobson said he hopes that either the University of Wisconsin-Madison backs down voluntarily or is forced into backing down by the DoE.
“The Equal Protection Project urges UW-Madison to publicly admit the error it made in conducting a racially discriminatory program, to apologize, to open the program to all students regardless of race or ethnicity, and to come up with a remedial plan to compensate students who were excluded unlawfully,” he said. “If UW-Madison will not undertake such steps voluntarily, we hope that the Department of Education forces the university to take these steps.”
“Our goal is to remove the racially discriminatory eligibility requirements for the program, not to eliminate the program entirely. Whether the Department of Education will penalize UW-Madison is to be determined, but in our view some sanction that imposes a cost on the University is warranted to send a message that flouting the law and the university’s own nondiscrimination rule is not acceptable,” he added.
He also stressed that the EPP’s complaint is backed by the Supreme Court’s recent decision to roll back affirmative action.
“After the Supreme Court’s decision in Students For Fair Admission, it is clear that discriminating on the basis of race to achieve diversity is not lawful, and violates, among other things, students’ 14th Amendment right to equal protection of the laws,” he said.
“As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,'” he added.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
- ‘Is she crazy?’ Even CNN lefty agrees Kamala is playing a poor political game over alleged DeSantis call - October 8, 2024
- Lara Logan goes scorched earth on morally bankrupt media machine in brilliant censorship testimony - October 8, 2024
- CNN’s lone conservative says ‘Donald Trump is RIGHT’ to call out Jewish voters - October 8, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.