UND student sues feds over race-based scholarship program
A University of North Dakota student has joined a University of Wisconsin student in challenging the constitutionality of a race-based U.S. Department of Education scholarship program in U.S. District Court in North Dakota.
The federal lawsuit brought by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of UND student Avery Durfee and UW-Madison student Benjamin Rothove contends the racial eligibility requirements of the $60 million McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program unlawfully exclude them on the basis of their white ethnicity, as well as many others of other ethnic backgrounds.
Asians are excluded. Arabs and other Middle Eastern ethnicities are excluded, including both students from Israel and Gaza. Even many Latinos and some Africans are excluded. And, of course, whites are excluded. Unless they fit into a narrow exception for first-generation low-income students, only those students lucky enough to be on Defendants’ list of favored racial groups get a chance to succeed with this program.
The McNair program was passed by Congress in 1987. It currently offers financial, academic and other support to some 6,000 students nationwide. Low-income and first-generation college students comprise two-thirds of recipients. The remaining slots go to individuals of populations deemed to be under-represented in graduate education by the Department of Education, including African American, Hispanic-Latino, Native American and Alaskan, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian students.
“Through a grant competition, funds are awarded to institutions of higher education to prepare eligible participants for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities,” according to the Department of Education website. “…The goal is to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.
But attorneys for the two students maintain that restricting some applicants on the basis of race violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The McNair Program’s racial eligibility requirements are unconstitutional. By using race as a factor in affording educational opportunities, the McNair Program violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. The Constitution forbids discrimination by the government against any citizen because of his race. The United States Supreme Court made these principles clear in striking down affirmative action in college admissions. They apply here as well.
Both students involved in the legal challenge belong to the conservative group Young America’s Foundation, also listed as a plaintiff in the case.
“I’ve worked unbelievably hard throughout my undergraduate career and have wanted to go to graduate school my entire life,” said Avery Durfee in a statement. ‘Being told that I didn’t qualify for the McNair program because I’m white seemed completely wrong. This sends the wrong message to young Americans everywhere.”
Federal education officials have not yet responded to the lawsuit in court or in the media. The lawsuit asks the court to declare race-based qualifications unconstitutional and to instruct the federal government to notify participating institutions the racial restrictions no longer apply.