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Cornell University law professor William A. Jacobson is the
founder of the Equal Protection Project, or EqualProtect.org,
which claims that 16 scholarships at Western Illinois are
discriminatory.
“So these are scholarships which are open only to certain races,
certain ethnicities and, in some cases, certain genders and
certain gender identities,” Jacobson said.
The complaint alleges that Western Illinois is violating the
Civil Rights Act, Title IX, and the 14th Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution.
“I think that Western Illinois needs to reopen the process for
these scholarships and reopen them on a non-discriminatory
basis,” Jacobson said.
Western Illinois University Assistant Vice President Alisha
Looney responded with a statement: “The University has received
no communications from the Office of Civil Rights. Our only
knowledge of this complaint is from media inquiries. If we do
receive a complaint, we will take this matter seriously, as we
do with any complaint against the University, and we will work
to ensure we are in compliance with all applicable laws.”
The federal complaint against Western Illinois is dated Feb. 26.
Jacobson said EqualProtect.org does not file cases they think
are close calls.
“We file cases, like with Western Illinois, where it’s right in
their rules and regulations that certain races are preferred.
Certain races are excluded. We don’t see how that can be
defended,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson said similar cases have mainly involved discrimination
against white or Asian students, or both.
“It’s time to uphold Western Illinois’ own rules and
regulations, which prohibit this very sort of discriminatory
conduct,” Jacobson said.
EqualProtect.org has filed more than 20 civil rights complaints
against different institutions with the U.S. Department of
Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
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