Fordham U. ‘diversity’ programs discriminate, violate civil rights law: complaint

A legal advocacy group has filed a discrimination complaint against Fordham University, claiming the Jesuit school in the Bronx offers race- and ethnicity-based scholarships that favor black and Latino students over white and Asian students in violation of civil rights law.

The Equal Protection Project’s complaint highlights several examples, such as Fordham’s “Diversity Fund” and “Fordham Scholarship,” for which access is restricted to black, Latino or first-generation or lower-income students.

The group also points to the school’s Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program, which targets aid to Latino or bilingual students while excluding their black, white and Asian peers.

The different standards based on race and ethnicity that must be met to qualify for financial assistance violate Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EPP said in the Aug. 4 complaint filed with the US Education Department.

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The legality of such “diversity, equity and inclusion” and preference programs is being challenged after the US Supreme Court ruled last year that race-based preference criteria in college admissions were unconstitutional .

“The eligibility requirements for these programs openly discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity. Regardless of the purpose of the discrimination, it is wrong and unlawful,” said William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project .

“After the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students For Fair Admission, it is clear that discriminating on the basis of race to achieve diversity is not lawful. As Chief Justice [John] Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.'”

Fordham’s Diversity Fund, established in 2021 by trustee Valerie Rainford, aims to “ease the burdens of student loans and part-time work that disproportionately affect Black and Latinx,” a summary of the program states.

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The financial assistance can be used to cover tuition, housing costs or study abroad.

“Students who are not ‘of color’ (i.e. whites) are eligible only if they are first-generation or lower-income. As a result, two similarly situated students — one of color and one white — who are not first-generation or lower-income are treated differently depending on their race and skin color,” EPP said in its complaint.

The Fordham Scholarship is awarded to entering first-year students recognized by the National Merit Recognition Program, or designated as Scholars by recognition programs for Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans and students from “rural” areas and “small” towns.

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Three percent of admitted students receive the award, Fordham says.

Meanwhile, the Latino Social Work Coalition Scholarship Program, offered through the Fordham Graduate School of Social Work, is restricted to “applicants who are Latino/x/e and bilingual students with significant economic needs” who are pursuing a master’s degree in social work. Students are eligible for scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,500.

“Fordham knows better than to run educational programs that exclude students based on race and ethnicity. Fordham’s own nondiscrimination standards forbid such discrimination,” Jacobson of EPP said.

“Fordham should live up to its own set of rules.”

EPP has filed similar complaints against preferential scholarship and financial aid programs offered by the New York State Education Department, and the State University of New York’s Albany and Buffalo campuses.

Fordham spokesman Bob Howe responded, “When OCR [the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights] receives a complaint, they review it and decide, as a threshold matter, whether to proceed. OCR does not pursue every complaint they receive, so it would be very premature to comment.”

A US Education Department spokesperson said, “The Office for Civil Rights does not confirm complaints.”

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