Two college students have taken legal action against the Biden-Harris administration, alleging that the Department of Education is unlawfully denying them access to a scholarship program based on their race.
The lawsuit, initiated by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), claims that Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, valued at $60 million, violates the equal protection rights of white, Asian, Jewish, and Arab students.
The plaintiffs, Benjamin Rothove from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Avery Durfee from the University of North Dakota, and the Young America’s Foundation, argue that the program’s eligibility criteria, which prioritize applicants from “underrepresented” groups in graduate education, are discriminatory.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, requests that the court block the administration from enforcing race-based eligibility requirements and notify educational institutions that such criteria are unconstitutional.
According to the lawsuit, both Rothove and Durfee were informed via email by their respective colleges that they were ineligible for the McNair scholarship due to their race.
“We want this case to set the precedent that when a student is in college there can’t be any differing treatment of the student based on race. There can’t be any privileges given or advantages or benefits at all,” WILL deputy counsel Dan Lennington told The Daily Wire on Wednesday. “We think this is a very broad attack on the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to push DEI into our colleges even further.”
The McNair program offers substantial financial support, along with internships, mentoring, and research opportunities, to its recipients. Although certain low-income white and Asian students might qualify, the program’s definition of “underrepresented” includes only Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, and Native American Pacific Islander students. Lennington argues that this effectively excludes non-Black and non-Hispanic students from pursuing graduate education.
“I’ve worked unbelievably hard throughout my undergraduate career and have wanted to go to graduate school my entire life,” Durfee said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. “Being told that I didn’t qualify for the McNair program because I’m white seemed completely wrong. This sends the wrong message to young Americans everywhere.”
Young America’s Foundation President and former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker echoed these sentiments, stating, “Denying a student the chance to compete for a scholarship based on their skin color is not only discriminatory but also demeaning and unconstitutional. At YAF, we proudly defend our students’ right to be judged on their merit and abilities, not on race.”
Lennington emphasized that this lawsuit is part of a broader effort to challenge race-based programs within the federal government, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action. “We are going to sue over [the programs] one at a time,” he said. “We are going to have to dismantle it brick by brick.”
