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The Department of Education issued guidance on its letter that threatened to revoke funding from universities that have any race-conscious programs on Friday, putting affinity commencement celebrations and minority scholarships in jeopardy.
In the new document addressing questions raised by a Feb. 14 letter by Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig W. Trainor, the department outlined its argument that the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision outlawing affirmative action in admissions applies to all policies that separate students based on race.
The document specifies that “school-sponsored or school-endorsed racially segregated aspects of student, academic, and campus life, such as programming, graduation ceremonies, and housing, are legally indefensible under the same ‘separate but equal’ rationale that the Court rejected in Brown.”
The document directly threatens Harvard’s several affinity celebrations hosted by the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for Black, Arab, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American, and Pacific Islander students. The University also hosts celebrations for LGBTQ+ students, veterans, Jewish and first generation and low-income students, as well as graduates with disabilities.
According to the frequently asked questions document, such ceremonies — should they be deemed as separating students by race — would violate the guidance in Trainor’s letter.
If Harvard’s practices are found in violation of the guidelines, the department’s Office for Civil Rights will attempt to “negotiate a voluntary resolution” from the University, according to the FAQ. The OCR will demand a written agreement that “describes the specific remedial actions” to become compliant.
For universities that do not comply, the department threatened “administrative action” — revoking federal funds, according to the Feb. 14 letter — or legal action by the Department of Justice.
University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in an emailed statement that “Harvard remains committed to building a community where individuals who bring a broad array backgrounds, experiences and perspectives come together to learn, grow and thrive, and equally committed to complying with the law.”
“The University is reviewing the FAQs that were issued on February 28 by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights,” he wrote.
The OCR also plans to investigate “covert discrimination” through race-neutral programming that may be race-motivated on a case-by-case basis.
They say such investigations would include determining whether students were treated differently because of their race, the “historical background” of those programs, and whether there was a “pattern regarding policies or decisions towards members of a particular race.”
While the impact of the policy remains uncertain, university-wide scholarships may also be affected by this enforcement.
The FAQ establishes that “schools may not administer or advertise scholarships, prizes, or other opportunities offered by third parties based on race.” Trainor’s dear colleague letter argued that race-based decision-making for awarding scholarships and financial aid is considered treating one race preferentially, and thus is violating federal law.
The education department considers scholarships a “zero-sum process” and wrote that racial preference as a “positive or plus factor” is still against the law. They also wrote that schools cannot advertise third party scholarships for minority students.
At Harvard, several schools offer and advertise scholarships geared toward minority students.
At Harvard Business School, seven external funding opportunities such as the John Mack ABANA Fellowship and the LunaCap Foundation, are advertised for minority students on the school’s official website.
And at Harvard Medical School, for example, the Scholars in Translational and Academic Research scholarship is advertised to “support career advancement of postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented minority backgrounds while building a community of diverse scientists at Harvard Medical School.”
The department also addressed confusion over admissions practices, writing that colleges and universities that use essays to use racial preference as a stand-in affirmative action are also not in compliance with the guidance.
“Schools that craft essay prompts in a way that require applicants to disclose their race are illegally attempting to do indirectly what cannot be done directly, as are admissions policies that hold brief interviews in order to visually assess an applicant’s race,” the department wrote.
Harvard added a question to its college application after the Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action asking applicants to reflect on how they may contribute to a diverse environment with their unique background and life experience.
According to the guidelines, applicants are not prohibited from writing about their race in such an essay, but the admissions team can only “credit what is unique about the individual in overcoming adversity or hardship but never the person’s race.”
“It is ultimately racial preferences that are illegal, however accomplished,” they wrote.
—Staff writer Cassidy M. Cheng can be reached at cassidy.cheng@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cassidy_cheng28.
—Staff writer Claire T. Grumbacher can be reached at claire.grumbacher@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @clairegrumbachr.
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