Student group sues Department of Education for anti-white racism

The plaintiffs claim that the McNair financial aid program is subject to discriminatory and unconstitutional racial eligibility criteria.

El Secretario de Educación, Miguel Cardona, ofrece una actualización sobre las acciones de la Administración Biden-Harris para mejorar la seguridad pública en todas las comunidades durante un evento en el South Court Auditorium del Eisenhower Executive Office Building, junto a la Casa Blanca, en Washington, DC, el 16 de marzo de 2022. — Miguel Cardona, secretary of educationKim Watson / AFP

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Santiago Ospital

29 de agosto, 2024

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"I was excited when I learned about the McNair Program because I thought it would be a great way to help me get into graduate school," says Benjamin Rothove of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was devastating, he says, to realize that he "did not qualify" because of his race: "This is the 21st Century, why are we continuing to separate and divide students?"

Rothove is one of two undergraduates who sued Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and the department itself on Wednesday for "mandatory race-based eligibility requirements" in a financial aid program for doctoral training.

"The McNair Program excludes many students because of their race," the lawsuit asserts, stating that it will benefit "underrepresented" groups, a "euphemism" the Department of Education uses to refer to certain minority groups it prefers. The rest, they claim, can only benefit if they "fit into a narrow exception for first-generation low-income students."

The lawsuit also filed by student groups Young Americans for Freedom and Young America's Foundation asserts that the list of excluded races includes Asians, Arabs and "other Middle Eastern ethnicities," "many" Latinos and non-black Africans. "And, of course, whites are excluded."

The program, the lawsuit reads, is both discriminatory and unconstitutional, as it "violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection."

"Should be open to all students, regardless of race"

"We have already heard that the Administration knows they can’t win in court," Dan Lennington, associate counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty which is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. He argued, therefore, that the organization would work to, "one-by-one," "terminate these discriminatory, taxpayer-funded efforts."

In this case, the law firm asked Justice to ban the imposition of racial eligibility criteria. "The McNair Program should be open to all students, regardless of race," it asserts in the lawsuit.