On May 20, 2024, I wrote about a Civil Rights Complaint filed by the Equal Protection Project challenged a program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology called the Creative Regal Women of Knowledge, or “The CRWN”, open only to “women of color.” The full details are in the post, MIT Program Open Only To “Women of Color” Challenged By Equal Protection Project As Violating Civil Rights Laws.
As noted in that post, the Complaint received enormous local, national, and international media coverage, including at:
The Boston Globe
The Boston Herald
Boston.com
WCVB-TV (Boston)
The Independent (UK)
The Daily Mail (UK)
National Review
The Washington Examiner
and many more.
The media attention got to MIT, because it quietly tried to cover its tracks by adding language to the CRWN home page purporting to show that the program actually was open to everyone. The CRWN home page as it existed on May 20 is here. (That’s why we always archive and screenshot before we file a complaint.)
After the Complaint media coverage, MIT added the following statement to the CRWN home page:
“While our program is designed to support and celebrate undergraduate women of Color, participation is open to all students regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin.”
The College Fix was the first to pick up on the change:
William Jacobson, who filed the complaint, said the altered language does not erase the legal issues.“MIT altered the language on the website to assert that the program was open to everyone,” Jacobson stated in an email this morning to The College Fix.“But that plainly is not true. The entire structure of the CRWN program is exclusionary and limited to women of color,” the president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation said. He said the changes are an “admission of wrongdoing.”“MIT’s after-the-fact website wording change does not alter the serious violations of the civil rights laws that have been taking place for years and were ongoing in the spring 2024 semester,” Jacobson said. “The CRWN program’s exclusionary language necessarily deterred white female and all male students from applying. The OCR should open a formal investigation and impose remedial and other sanctions on MIT.”MIT declined to comment Wednesday morning when asked about the changes, including if an attorney had advised the school to make the edits. “MIT does not, as a practice, comment on legal matters,” a spokesperson said via email to The Fix.Jacobson, who is also a Cornell University law professor, offered to help MIT make changes necessary to satisfy the legal concerns raised by the complaint. He wants MIT to “publicly apologize” and “come up with a remedial plan.”“MIT also needs to be transparent moving forward to ensure that the website wording change is not a public relations maneuver. The Equal Protection Project would be willing to serve as a monitor of the program in order to ensure compliance, at no charge to MIT.”
The Boston Herald covered the change, MIT edits ‘women of color’ program website after complaint for excluding white students
MIT has updated its website for a “women of color” program after a free speech group filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Cambridge campus for excluding white students….After the complaint made headlines earlier this week, the MIT program’s website was edited….The Equal Protection Project nonprofit on Wednesday responded to the MIT program updating its website.“MIT appears to be backing down on its racially and sexually exclusionary CRWN program by adding a new non-discrimination statement on the CRWN home page,” said William Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project.“That statement was added only after EqualProtect.org filed a Civil Rights Complaint, which generated enormous media coverage,” Jacobson added. “Clearly, MIT is reacting to the negative publicity.”The CRWN program had not been open to everyone as MIT now claims, he said.“MIT is trying to rewrite the exclusionary and discriminatory history of the CRWN program,” Jacobson said. “This raises questions as to whether MIT is sincere in opening up the program to all students regardless of race or sex.”“MIT’s after-the-fact website wording change does not alter the serious violations of the civil rights laws that have been taking place for years,” he later added. “The CRWN program’s exclusionary language necessarily deterred white female and all male students from applying. The OCR (Office of Civil Rights) should open a formal investigation and impose remedial and other sanctions on MIT.”
Boston.com also covered the change:
After a conservative legal organization lodged a federal civil rights complaint against a program tailored for women of color at MIT on Monday, arguing that it unlawfully keeps white students from participating, the organization’s website was updated to reflect otherwise.After the complaint and related media coverage, MIT added the following statement to the Creative Regal Women of Knowledge or CRWN homepage: “While our program is designed to support and celebrate undergraduate women of Color, participation is open to all students regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin.” ….Despite the word change, Jacobson believes that MIT should develop a remedial plan to make the program available to all students regardless of race and sex, including expanding the program to open up additional spots.MIT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Equal Protection Project, launched last year, is part of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, which advertises itself as being devoted to the fair treatment of all persons regardless of race or ethnicity.“This is a victory not just for the Equal Protection Project, but also for students and the goal of equality in educational opportunity,” Jacobson said in a statement.
The Washington Examiner also provide coverage, MIT quietly changes website after civil rights complaint.
Is this change for real, or just to provide a defense if OCR opens an investigation? We understand the skepticism, but we’ll pocket whatever wins we can, and stay vigilent to monitor developments.
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