Equal Protection Project challenges 42 UIUC scholarships for sex, race-based discrimination
The Equal Protection Project has filed a complaint against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alleging that the school offers scholarships that give unlawful preferences on the basis of race and sex.
'Discrimination does not become lawful just because there is a diverse group of victims', EPP founder William Jacobson told the Washington Examiner.
The Equal Protection Project (EPP) has filed a complaint against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) alleging that the school offers scholarships that give unlawful preferences on the basis of race and sex.
The lawsuit specifically challenges 42 different scholarships, claiming that the school commits Title IX violations from sex-based discrimination and Title VI violations due to racial discrimination.
“UIUC has achieved diversity but in the worst way. The array of discriminatory scholarships collectively discriminates against almost everyone. Discrimination does not become lawful just because there is a diverse group of victims,” EPP founder William Jacobson told the Washington Examiner.
“The harm from discriminatory educational barriers is that it racializes not just the specific program, but the entire campus,” Jacobson continued. “Sending a message to students that access to opportunities is dependent on race or sex is damaging to the fabric of campus.”
As noted by the Washington Examiner, EPP’s complaint alleges that UIUC has 19 scholarships that violate Title IX exclusively, 19 scholarships that violate Title VI exclusively, and four scholarships that violate both.
“Eight scholarships are offered exclusively to female students, eight state a preference for female students, two are offered exclusively to male students, and one states a preference for male students,” the complaint details regarding the Title IX allegations.
For the Title VI allegations, EPP’s complaint states that 19 scholarships at UIUC are “offered exclusively or with a stated preference for various groups based on race, color, or national origin including students from underrepresented populations, students who are historically underrepresented, students from minority groups, and students from various ethnic groups or national origins.”
“It doesn’t matter what the source of funds are for the scholarships or if the discrimination is at the request of donors,” Jacobson concluded about UIUC’s scholarships in additional comments made to the outlet. “UIUC needs to come up with a remedial plan to compensate students shut out of these scholarships due to discrimination.”
EPP has previously issued similar challenges, including recent ones against Fordham University and Indiana University. In total, EPP has filed more than 30 such complaints.
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For the complaint against Indiana, Jacobson said that the 19 scholarships at issue were the “most pervasive discriminatory scholarship activity” the organization had seen at the time. “Nineteen, to us, reflects a systemic disregard with not only the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act, but also Indiana University’s own rules,” Jacobson said.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Equal Protection Project for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
