A legal advocacy group called The Equal Protection Project (EPP) recently filed a complaint at the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education. The complaint is classified as a discrimination complaint, claiming that Fordham University offers scholarships based on race and ethnicity which favor Black and Latino students over white and Asian students. The complaint specifically mentions specific examples including Fordham’s Diversity Fund and the Fordham Scholarship. William A. Jacobson, the organization’s founder, explained that this move was due to the department’s jurisdiction, as Fordham does receive government funding.
The EPP states their mission to investigate wrongdoing, educate the public and litigate when necessary. Their guiding principle is that there is no good form of racism, and the remedy for racism is never more racism. The group has made similar complaints regarding other schools, such as The State University of New York at Albany and Buffalo.
“At the Equal Protection Project, we seek to hold schools accountable to the federal civil rights laws,” Jacobson stated. “Here, we have challenged three scholarships at Fordham that discriminate on the basis of race, color and national origin.”
He further explained that the goal of filing the complaint, as well as others they submit, is to change unlawful behavior. Jacobson states that in approximately half of the cases the EPP has pursued, the school changes the terms and conditions of the scholarships cited. “That is our hope here, that Fordham will recognize the error of its ways and self-correct. We also seek to have such remedy confirmed by the Office for Civil Rights, to make sure it does not happen again,” Jacobson said.
The Fordham scholarship mentioned is a full tuition scholarship awarded to entering first-year students for eight fall and spring semesters. To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must have been designated as semifinalists by the National Merit Recognition Program or Scholars by the National Hispanic Recognition Program, National African American Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program, National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program or National First-Generation Recognition Program.
When asked to explain where the EPP found issue with this, Jacobson said, “The wording of the Fordham Scholarship on Fordham’s website suggests either a racial and ethnic restriction or at minimum that certain designated racial and ethnic groups have means for qualifying not available to students who are not members of those groups.” He stated that the scholarship should be race and ethnicity neutral.
Fordham Graduate student, Stephanie Reyes, disagreed with the idea of eliminating these scholarships at Fordham. “The diversity fund and minority scholarships make Fordham more accessible for first generation and BIPOC students who are historically lower income and could not afford tuition otherwise. These scholarships help make our school more diverse,” she commented.
When a complaint is filed, the Office for Civil Rights will evaluate the complaint to decide if it warrants investigation. If the complaint goes to investigation, they send a letter to both the complainant and the school.
The university has declined to comment as they have not received word of the complaint from the Office for Civil Rights.
JANE Doe • Sep 6, 2024 at 2:33 am
Race based scholarships exists because collage is often not accessible to Black Indigenous or Latino individuals due to systemic barriers and discrimination specifically designed to hinder their presence in white spaces. white people already make the majority of population in most colleges around the United States. Clearly they’re the group most thriving in colleges and less in need for protection or opportunities. why would you make it easier for white people to get into colleges when it already is a million times easier and that’s where therefore they make such a huge population in majority of colleges it isn’t because they’re smarter then all other races it’s because black Latin and indigenous communities are institutionally discriminated against from birth. From the quality of schools in the neighborhoods to the lack of resources for tutoring and extracurriculars. I was someone (Latin) who had to work 40-50 hour weeks WHILE IN HIGHSCHOOL which caused me to need to be in highschool for two extra years and was denied many times because I had to extracurricular activities when I psychically could not or I would not eat or have clothes on my back. that’s the reality for many people. Black people are still extremely discriminated against in this country despite how many black people you may see succeed there is far more who are left in the ditch to suffer the cycle of poverty over and over again. White people don’t need WHITE BASED scholarships. The world is already yours! Everything works specially for you with you in mind ! You are the main people the world loves and coddles already! No one is discriminating against you systematically. individuals might hate you because of your privilege but don’t worry! You rule the world so it’s not like anything will ever touch your precious little bubble!