YAF Slaps University of Wisconsin-Madison With DOJ Civil Rights Complaint
By
Madison Hahn. Associate General Counsel
January 16, 2025
Young America’s Foundation (YAF) filed a complaint against the University of Wisconsin-Madison this week under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
YAF is represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) and is partnered with the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
As YAF’s complaint states, “the United States Supreme Court declared, in no uncertain terms, that ‘racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional.’ Accordingly, ‘[n]o State has any authority under the equal-protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to use race as a factor in affording educational opportunities among its citizens.’” In spite of the Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in the Students for Fair Admission cases, Wisconsin-Madison continues to offer at least 60 race-based scholarships.
YAF’s complaint noted that, while other Wisconsin schools had “abandoned over 160 race-based scholarships” there was “one glaring exception: UW’s flagship campus, UW-Madison, refused to publicly acknowledge and confirm that it would eliminate its racially discriminatory scholarship programs.”
While this isn’t the first grievance YAF has lodged against the University of Wisconsin-Madison (YAF threatened a lawsuit just last year), it may be the most undeniable claim yet. Categorizing students by the color of their skin is antithetical to most fundamental notions of liberty and justice. Further, “rewarding” students of the “right” race by offering them money demeans their humanity.
YAF is confident that once the incoming Trump administration reviews this complaint, it will order Wisconsin-Madison to end these racialist programs once and for all.