The University of Wisconsin-Madison is facing a federal civil rights investigation over a fellowship program that allegedly discriminates based on race.
The Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed a complaint in January over the university’s Creando Comunidad: Community Engaged Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Fellows program, which requires applicants to be a “member of a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group or community.” The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said Monday it would open an investigation in response to the complaint.
“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,” Cornell Law School professor William Jacobson, founder of EPP, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “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.”
The OCR noted in its letter to EPP that opening an investigation does not mean it made a decision.
“During the investigation, OCR is neutral; OCR will collect and analyze the evidence it needs in order to make a decision about the complaint,” the letter states.
Participants in the university’s BIPOC fellowship program each receive a $500 scholarship and must attend seven 90-minute meetings. The fellowship, which began in October, is “a cohort-based program that convenes monthly to connect undergraduate Students of Color who are currently, or striving to, participate in community engagement,” according to the website.
EPP’s complaint alleged the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“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,” Jacobson continued. “As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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