The University of Oregon is facing a civil rights complaint over four scholarships that allegedly discriminate based on race, color, national origin, or sex.
Filed on March 4 by the Equal Protection Project (EPP) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, the complaint claims these scholarships violate both federal civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution. More specifically, EPP argues that the University of Oregon has violated Title VI and Title IX and also breached the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
The DEI-based (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) scholarships in question include the Robert J. Erickson Kaiser Permanente Scholarship, which gives “[s]pecial consideration … to students who are Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latinx, or Native American.”
The complaint also targets the Maradel Gale Pacific Islands Scholarship, which is only for “Pacific Islander student[s],” the Miller Family Graduate Award in Technology & Science, which has a “[p]reference to female students,” and the Andrea Gellatly Memorial Scholarship, which is reserved for a “woman beginning her final year.”
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According to EPP, these scholarships unlawfully restrict eligibility based on race and sex, violating Title VI (prohibiting race-based discrimination) and Title IX ( banning sex-based discrimination).
William A. Jacobson, founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, criticized the University of Oregon for failing to uphold its own nondiscrimination policies.
“Where were the administrators and staff whose jobs supposedly are devoted to preventing discrimination?” Jacobson said in a statement to The Daily Emerald. “Why was there no intervention to uphold the legally required equal access to education?”
EPP is calling for a federal investigation into the university’s scholarship policies, corrective action for those excluded, and assurances that all future scholarships comply with civil rights laws.
“Creating educational opportunities based on race, color, national origin or sex is offensive and violates Titles VI and IX, respectively, of the Civil Rights Act, as well as Oregon law,” Jacobson stated in additional remarks made to The Daily Emerald. “We are asking UO to live up to the law and its own rules.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Oregon for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
