Civil rights complaint filed against Indiana University South Bend over race-based scholarships

The Equal Protection Project has filed a civil rights complaint against Indiana University South Bend, alleging that the university is violating federal law by offering scholarships that discriminate based on characteristics like race.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on March 26, challenges five scholarships of the university’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) scholarship page. 

The Equal Protection Project argues that these scholarships violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by granting preferential treatment to certain racial and ethnic groups.

[RELATED: University of Michigan Alumni Association ends race-based scholarship program]

The scholarships in question include the Clark Equipment Minority Scholarship, the Helen F. Pope Memorial Scholarship – in which “African American/Black, Hispanic, or women students receive priority consideration” – the IU South Bend Black Council Scholarship, the Kem Krest “Crossing the Finish Line” Bicentennial Scholarship – in which “African American and/or Hispanic students receive priority consideration,” – and the NAACP Scholarship, which is “ intended for African-American students.”

In a statement published to the organization’s website, Equal Protection Project Founder William Jacobson said that the “primary goal” of the complaint is to see that “[e]ach student have equal access to educational opportunities, without regard to race, color or national origin.”

“By discriminating a scholarship or a program today, you are [not] solving any problems. You’re just injecting more discrimination into the system,” he continued. “So, to us, the remedy for racism is never more racism. It’s less racism. Let’s take discrimination out of the system.”

[RELATED: DEI official at Catholic Loyola University sticks by DEI as other universities axe it]

The university currently offers “Diversity Resources” on its website, including various campus groups like the Affirmative Action Office, the Black Student Union and the Feminist Student Union. 

The same web page also promotes left-wing organizations like the LGBTQ Center and even features “DACA Resources.”

Campus Reform has contacted Indiana University South Bend for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.