{"id":9243,"date":"2024-02-28T14:55:44","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T15:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=9243"},"modified":"2024-02-28T16:02:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T16:02:37","slug":"uw-continues-unlawful-discrimination-despite-harvard-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=9243","title":{"rendered":"UW Continues Unlawful Discrimination, Despite Harvard Ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/will-law.org\/uw-continues-unlawful-discrimination-despite-harvard-ruling\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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WILL demands that the University ends race discrimination once and for all<\/strong><\/h1>\n
The News:\u00a0<\/strong>The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is asking the University of Wisconsin to investigate and reform several discriminatory programs that remain active despite last summer\u2019s decision in\u00a0Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. <\/em>Officials at UW have promised to bring the system into compliance with that landmark decision, but many illegal policies persist.<\/div>\n
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The Quote:<\/strong> Dan Lennington, WILL Deputy Counsel, stated, \u201cWe appreciate that the University of Wisconsin has made progress toward promoting true equality since the Harvard<\/em> decision, especially during negotiations with the Legislature, but more work must be done. The University should continue its efforts by investigating remaining race-based programs, and reform those programs so that assistance and services can be distributed based on merit and need, not crude racial categories.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Discriminatory Practices:\u00a0<\/strong>While our letter contains the full list of discriminatory practices, below are some important examples of recent race-based programs:<\/div>\n
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The Board of Regents 2024 Diversity Awards.<\/em>\u00a0On February 9, 2024, the Board of Regents presented \u201cDiversity Awards\u201d worth $7,500 each to \u201cstudents who are members of historically underrepresented populations (including African American, Native America, Hispanic\/Latino, Asian American, and Southeast Asian), first-generation and\/or economically disadvantaged.\u201d Race is used here as a preference since some students who are not first-generation or economically disadvantaged were disqualified by their race. This is illegal and unconstitutional.<\/div>\n
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UW-Madison Kemper-Knapp Fellowship.<\/em>\u00a0UW-Madison\u2019s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education advertises and administers a fellowship open to students \u201cfrom underrepresented backgrounds, such as students of color and low-income first-generation students.\u201d By its own terms, some students will not be on an equal footing to compete for this scholarship based on race.<\/div>\n
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UW-Madison BIPOC Fellows Program.<\/em>\u00a0The \u201cCommunity Engaged BIPOC Fellows Program\u201d is a scholarship program for \u201cundergraduate Students of Color.\u201d This program is currently the subject of a federal civil rights complaint. It is illegal because it discriminates based on race.<\/div>\n
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UW-Madison Marion McCammond Award.<\/em> This award is for an \u201coutstanding student of color.\u201d Awards and scholarships based on race are illegal and unconstitutional.<\/div>\n
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The letter also identifies race-based programs at other campuses, including UW-Green Bay, UW-Parkside, and UW-Whitewater.<\/div>\n
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About WILL\u2019s Efforts:<\/strong>\u00a0WILL\u2019s Equality Under the Law Project has been in place since 2021 and WILL attorneys have represented over 50 clients in 18 states. All clients are represented pro bono.<\/div>\n
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In June 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided that colleges and universities may no longer use race as a factor in admissions. This practice, commonly called \u201caffirmative action,\u201d was declared unconstitutional in\u00a0Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.<\/em> That decision, however, has much broader implications: it confirms that federal civil rights laws demand \u201ccolorblind\u201d treatment of all individuals in America. Since the\u00a0Harvard<\/em>\u00a0Decision, WILL has launched numerous legal challenges to race-based, discriminatory programs across the country.<\/div>\n
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Find out more at\u00a0will-law.org\/equality<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Read More:<\/strong><\/div>\n