Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Administration's Department of Education and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, alleging that scholarship and career advancement programs discriminate against Americans on the basis of race.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is running a $60 million national scholarship and career advancement program called the McNair Post-Bachelor Achievement Program,” YAF's ComplaintsA report submitted to the University of North Dakota's Young Americans for Freedom chapter and two YAF students explained:
The lawsuit goes on to say that the program “excludes many students because of their race,” adding that the defendants “impose mandatory race-based eligibility requirements” as part of the program.
“Defendants argue that these racial exclusions are necessary to racially balance the graduate student population in the United States by giving preference to so-called 'underrepresented' students,” the lawsuit states.
But the lawsuit goes on to say that “underrepresented” is a “euphemism for certain minority groups,” adding that “Asians are excluded. Arabs and other Middle Eastern peoples are excluded. Students from both Israel and Gaza are excluded. Many Latinos and even some Africans are excluded.”
“And of course, white people are excluded,” the complaint adds.
“Denying students the opportunity to compete for scholarships because of the color of their skin is not only discriminatory, it is offensive and unconstitutional,” former Wisconsin Governor and YAF Chairman Scott Walker said in a statement Wednesday. press release“At YAF, we proudly advocate for our students' right to be judged on their merit and ability, not on their race.”
According to a press release, YAF and its plaintiffs are represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL).
Dan Lennington, associate counsel for WILL, said the lawsuit continues the law firm's “advancement on the Biden-Harris Radical DEI program.”
“We've already heard the administration knows they can't win in court, so we're going to end these discriminatory, taxpayer-funded efforts one by one,” Lennington said.
The student plaintiffs in YAF are Avery Durfee, a student at the University of North Dakota, and Benjamin Lotoff, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The lawsuit states that both Durfee and Lotoff “meet all of the eligibility requirements except that they are white.”
“I worked hard to get to this point in my undergraduate studies and built a résumé that was conducive to graduate school,” Durfee said. “So it's tough to be told I can't get into the McNair program because I'm white. It sends the wrong message to young Americans around the world.”
“When I found out about the McNair program, I was excited because I thought it would be a great way to get into graduate school,” Rotoff said.
“But when I found out I wasn't eligible because of my race, I was shocked,” Rotoff added. “It's the 21st century. Why do we continue to segregate and divide students?”
YAF's lawsuit states that the McNair program “violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantee” by “using race as a factor in determining educational opportunity for citizens.”
As such, the group is seeking a “preliminary and permanent injunction and declaratory judgment” barring the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Cardona from imposing race-based eligibility standards.
Alana Mastangero is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her at Facebook And X is Followetc. Instagram.
