Iowa Universities To Review “Diversity Scholarships” After “Civil Complaints … Filed Against Other Universities” by Equal Protection Project

Iowa Universities To Review “Diversity Scholarships” After “Civil Complaints … Filed Against Other Universities” by Equal Protection Project

The Equal Protection Project (EPP) (EqualProtect.org) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation has challenged numerous racially discriminatory programs done in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including race-based and racially exclusionary scholarships.

EPP has filed over 20 civil rights complaints with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education, and other actions, leading numerous institutions to alter or drop their discriminatory practices. We recently reported how Kansas State Univ “Scholarship has eliminated the preference based on race, color, or national origin” After Equal Protection Project Legal Challenge.

Our actions are having an impact far beyond the schools we name in complaints. This article at The Daily Iowan notes a decision to reevaluate all scholarships at U. Iowa and other Iowa Regents universities:

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended race-based admissions by striking down affirmative action in June 2023, dozens of institutions have changed their admissions policies. Now thousands of dollars in scholarships aimed at people with diverse backgrounds are under review, including at the University of Iowa.

UI officials told The Daily Iowan that the school began reviewing scholarships after the overturning of affirmative action and when some civil complaints started to be filed against other universities.

In a statement to the DI, UI Assistant Vice President for External Relations Jeneane Beck wrote that the university consulted with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Iowa Board of Regents on the matter.

“Based on the principles articulated by the Supreme Court, the university is reviewing and amending scholarships and other financial aid offerings that use certain protected class characteristics (e.g. race, gender, age, or sexual orientation) as selection criteria,” Beck wrote….

The criteria and wording for affected scholarships will likely be changed to be inclusive of people from all backgrounds, as opposed to people from a specific ethnic or racial group….

The Daily Iowan highlighted complaints by EPP against other schools:

Multiple lawsuits were filed against universities that continue to have programs and scholarships designated for students of a certain race or background. One example is a complaint against Kansas State University filed on Aug. 16, 2023, for providing a “racially discriminatory” multicultural student scholarship.

The scholarship, titled the Joey Lee Garmon Multicultural Scholarship, is “directed toward students of historically underrepresented backgrounds. The applicant must be of an ethnic group that have been historically and traditionally oppressed in the achievement of academic and leadership endeavors to include applicants of African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latinx American heritage.”

The complaint, which was filed with the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education by the Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, argues that the scholarship violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in any ‘program or activity’ that receives federal financial assistance.”

Title VI also “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in federally funded programs,” and thus “applies to universities receiving federal financial assistance,” the complaint states, quoting from the case Rowles v. Curators of the Univ. of Mo.

“The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color. If both are not accorded the same protection, then it is not equal,’” the complaint states, quoting the case.

Now, other complaints similar to the ones filed against Kansas State University are impacting other institutions, including Big Ten school the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is facing a complaint from the same company for “supporting and promoting a program that engages in invidious discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.”

We are pleased to see that our actions are helping change the narrative on campuses nationwide, even those where we have not filed a complaint. We are continuing to act on tips and to seek out opportunities to challenge discrimination done in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. But we need your help. We are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination.

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