The student group Young Americans for Freedom is suing the Biden-Harris administration, alleging that scholarship and career advancement programs discriminate against Americans based on race.
According to a federal lawsuit filed this week by the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of the two students and the University of North Dakota chapter of YAF: $60 million Ronald E. McNair Graduate Achievement ProgramThe university, which serves about 6,000 students each year, bases its preferential treatment on a “list of preferred racial groups.”
Excluded from the list are white, Asian, Jewish, Arab and students who, through no fault of their own, “do not fall within the narrow exception of first-generation, low-income students,” says the lawsuit, which names both the New York City Department of Education and Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona as defendants.
According to the Biden-Harris Department of Education:
To qualify for McNair, students must be enrolled in a degree program at an eligible institution. In all projects, at least two-thirds of participants must be low-income, first-generation college-going students. The remaining participants can be from groups underrepresented in graduate education.
race Listed “Underrepresented” populations include Blacks, Hispanics, Alaska Indians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
“Why do we continue to separate and divide our students?”
McNair Scholars, whose skin pigmentation and ethnicity satisfy the Democratic administration, would apparently be able to receive an internship allowance worth thousands of dollars, in addition to mentoring and other academic opportunities.
“The McNair Program's racial eligibility requirements are unconstitutional,” the lawsuit states. “By using 'race as a factor in awarding educational opportunity to citizens,' the McNair Program violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantee.”
The lawsuit names as plaintiffs Avery Durfee, a white female student at the University of North Dakota, and Benjamin Rothhoff, a white male student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, both of whom allegedly learned they were ineligible for the program because of their race.
“I studied incredibly hard throughout my undergraduate years and have wanted to go to graduate school my whole life. I believe it is completely wrong to be told that I am ineligible for the McNair program because I am white. This sends the wrong message to young Americans around the world,” Durfee said in a statement.
Rothove said he was shocked to learn he couldn't get into the program because of his race.
“This is the 21st century,” Rothhove said, “why do we continue to segregate and divide students?”
The lawsuit, like other recent legal actions targeting similar racist federal government efforts, cites the U.S. Supreme Court's June 29, 2023 ruling. Verdict in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. Harvard University/University of North Carolina Banning college admissions based on race.
“Students must be treated on the basis of their experiences as individuals, not on the basis of their race,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.
“For too long, many colleges and universities have done just the opposite, and in doing so, wrongly concluded that the test of a person's identity is the color of their skin, not the challenges they have overcome, the skills they have acquired, or the lessons they have learned,” Roberts continued. “Our constitutional history does not permit such a choice.”
WILL’s lawsuit specifically accuses the Biden-Harris DOE of violating the equal protection guarantee under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
“Deniing students of scholarship opportunities because of the color of their skin is not only discriminatory, it is degrading and unconstitutional,” YAF President Scott Walker said in a statement. “At YAF, we proudly advocate for students' rights to be judged on merit and ability, not on race.”
Dan Lennington, Associate General Counsel at WILL. WILL is a conservative law firm. Criticizing the Biden-Harris administration “WILL will continue its march through the radical Biden-Harris DEI programming,” said the Democrat, who has faced criticism for years over discriminatory programming.
“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 added.
This is not the first time the McNair program has come under fire for its race-based criteria.
Last year, the Legal Insurrection Foundation's Equal Protection Project Civil rights claims Clash with the Department of Energy's Office for Civil Rights over implementation of the McNair Program at the University of Colorado.
“We file this civil rights complaint alleging that the school supports and promotes a scholarship program that involves unjust discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin,” the lawsuit states.
According to the Equal Protection Project, the McNair program is federally funded and subject to Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act, which means it is prohibited from intentionally discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin.
WILL’s lawsuit comes amid a broader social movement to thwart corporate discriminatory policies, particularly those implemented in the name of DEI.
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