Indiana University faces legal challenge over its use of race-based scholarships
IU’s promotion of race-based scholarships ‘reflects a pervasive and systemic failure to comply with constitutional and statutory requirements,’ the EPP claimed.
The EPP is asking for the Department of Education to look into the school’s conduct, help students who were excluded from scholarships because of their race, and make sure IU complies with the law.
A group fighting discrimination in higher education is opposing Indiana University’s offering of multiple scholarships that are based on race.
The Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed a complaint against the school with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on July 15, stating that Indiana University “offers, promotes, and administers at least 19 race-based scholarships at the Kelley School of Business, the IU Indianapolis campus and the McKinney School of Law,” a practice that the EPP claims “reflects a pervasive and systemic failure to comply with constitutional and statutory requirements at IU.”
“For some of the scholarships terms such as ‘minorities’ or variations on that term are used. It is clear from the context of the scholarships and the usage of such terms by Indiana University that these terms reflect a racial and/or ethnic descriptor that excludes whites,” the EPP writes.
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The EPP argues that the scholarships violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “by conditioning eligibility for or providing preferential treatment for the foregoing scholarships at KSB, IUI and MSL based on a student’s race or national origin.”
Title VI bans discrimination “on the basis of race, color, and national origin” in institutions that receive federal funds.
The group also claimed that, considering IU’s standing as a public university, “its offering and administering of the scholarships listed [in the complaint] also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Some of the scholarships directly mention the ethnicity of applicants as a criteria, such as one that states that “[t]he donor has a preference for students of color,” another that states that “[p]reference is given to African American students,” and another preferring “minority applicants.”
Other scholarships give “special consideration” to “underrepresented populations” or to “students with diverse cultural experiences.”
The EPP states that “[t]his complaint is timely brought because it includes allegations of discrimination based on race, color or national origin that appear to be ongoing.”
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The group concludes the complaint by asking the OCR to investigate the school, impose “remedial relief” for students who were “illegally excluded” from the scholarships in question because of their race, and ensure “that all ongoing and future programming through IU comports with the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.”
The EPP also recently filed another complaint against the Rochester Institute of Technology over an award related to STEM fields that discriminates against biological males who do not identify as women.
Campus Reform has contacted Indiana University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
