The Equal Protection Project (EPP) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation filed the complaint on August 19, 2024 with the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education, alleging the university has engaged in “systemic non-compliance with federal civil rights laws.” According the filing, the university’s scholarship programs are in violation of Title VI and Title IX (Sex Discrimination). “UIUC has achieved diversity but in the worst way,” said William Jacobson, EPP Founder, and Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School. “The array of discriminatory scholarships collectively discriminates against almost everyone. Discrimination does not become lawful just because there is a diverse group of victims,” he added. The lawsuit is based on a historic U.S. Supreme Court decision last year, which effectively ended the use of affirmative action in college admissions. Jacobson added that the discrimination comes in various ways, but the “overarching theme is to exclude or diminish some people and promote others, based on race, color, ethnicity, or sex.” The complaint comes amid increased scrutiny over diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, as more Americans and special interest groups become increasingly vocal about discriminatory patterns re-emerging, even those that are formed with the goal of addressing past discrimination. EPP has filed more than 30 complaints and legal actions since February 2023, which has resulted in more than half of the schools and universities ending or changing the programs. According to the complaint against UIUC:The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is facing a federal lawsuit over 42 scholarship programs that discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, sex, or both.
I. Title IX Violations (19) – Eight scholarships are offered exclusively to female students, eight state a preference for female students, two are offered exclusively to male students, and one states a preference for male students. II. Title VI Violations (19) – These 19 scholarships are all offered exclusively or with a stated preference for various groups based on race, color, or national origin including students from underrepresented populations, students who are historically underrepresented, students from minority groups, and students from various ethnic groupsor national origins including Czech, Lithuanian, Japanese, Latina/Latino, Iranian. III. Title IX and Title VI (4) – These four scholarships discriminate based on both sex and race either exclusively, e.g., eligibility is restricted to a male minority freshman, or with a stated race/sex preference, e.g., minorities or women preferred.
