Out-of-state group files civil rights lawsuits against University of Colorado
A conservative group from out of state is taking legal action against University of Colorado in Boulder and Denver.
The Equal Protection Project, founded by William Jacobson, has filed legal complaints against the schools for allegedly participating in a federal program that discriminates against certain students based on race.
Jacobson, who also heads the Legal Insurrection Foundation, is leading the suit against the universities.
As he put it, "We just started in February of this year, and we filed about 20 complaints wherever we see programs that, by their terms and conditions, discriminate on the basis of race."
The program in question is the McNair Scholars Program, named after the second Black American to go to space, Ronald McNair. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and can be found at over 150 schools across the country. However, according to Jacobson, the program's eligibility requirements are discriminatory, as only certain racial groups are automatically eligible while others must prove hardship to apply.
The group has filed complaints with the Office of Civil Rights, specifically targeting the programs at CU Boulder and Denver.
While other Colorado schools, including Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado, also have the McNair Scholars Program, the group claims that their focus on CU is not arbitrary, but rather a result of receiving a tip about the supposed discrimination at these two schools.
It is worth noting that these complaints come on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action in colleges earlier this summer. However, Jacobson insists that their motivations are not rooted in the ruling. "The fact that there are other schools doing it, doesn’t in a sense justify it. And so yes, there are many schools that participate in this. The fact that we didn’t bring complaints against all of them at one time doesn’t mean that we won’t bring them in the future," he said.
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Responding to the complaints, CU Boulder issued a statement acknowledging the filing and stating that they will evaluate the complaint and respond accordingly.
The Colorado university also reiterated its commitment to complying with all federal requirements related to the awarding of financial aid.