Update 2:51 p.m. May 8: The university provided a statement after publication, saying, “The university has not received a copy of any such complaint from the organization or notice of any official inquiry into the matter.”
The Equal Protection Project, a group that has filed hundreds of federal complaints against universities for what they see as discriminatory policies, filed a civil rights complaint against MTSU on Thursday, alleging the university discriminates against students by giving preference to minority groups when dispersing scholarship funds.
The group claims that 17 scholarships discriminate on the basis of race because they give preference to or are only for minority students.
William A. Jacobson, a professor at Cornell Law School and the founder of the Equal Protection Project, said the scholarships admit to discriminating on the basis of race, according to MTSU’s website.
“At EPP, our guiding principle is that the remedy for racism never is more racism,” Jacobson said. “To the extent MTSU seeks greater diversity, there are many lawful means of achieving that goal, but discrimination is not one of them.”
Christy Sigler, assistant to the president for Institutional Equity and Compliance at MTSU, disagrees.
“Ever since the [Supreme Court’s] Students for Fair Admissions directive, the university does not, to my knowledge, discriminate against white students,” Sigler said.
The complaint is one of hundreds that Jacobson’s organization has sent since launching in 2023.
As for outcomes, Jacobson was hopeful because the Trump administration is enforcing Title VI more strictly than Biden. But an outcome is not guaranteed, even though Tennessee is a red state.
“This is handled by the U.S. Department of Education, not in the local court system or administrative system,” Jacobson said. “So to us, it doesn’t really matter where it is. It is always surprising to us when we find something like this in a red state.”
He also described what a victory looks like to the Equality Protection Project.
“A victory to us is when the school stops the discrimination and in many of our cases, [the schools] realize they have no defense, [and] they will voluntarily end the discrimination,” Jacobson said.
MTSU currently offers more than 550 scholarships.
The university said through a spokesperson that it would not offer comment until the administration sees the document, which is now in MTSU’s possession.
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