RESTON, VA — Young America’s Foundation, along with the Young Americans for Freedom Chapter at the University of North Dakota (UND) and two YAF students, filed a federal lawsuit this week against the Biden-Harris Department of Education over an unconstitutional program which deems certain students “ineligible” due to their race in violation of the equal protection clause.
YAF is represented in the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and its Secretary Miguel Cardona by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL).
The Department of Education’s racist, DEI-inspired “McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program” throws $60 million worth of taxpayer funds toward providing financial support and opportunities for close to 6,000 college students each year who wish to pursue post-graduate education.
As YAF’s lawsuit explains, the program “offers a variety of benefits, including internships, seminars, tutoring, academic counseling, research opportunities, mentoring, and a stipend worth several thousand dollars” to recipients.
However, as outlined in YAF’s complaint, the “McNair Program excludes many students because of their race” as a result of the Biden-Harris Department of Education and Secretary Cardona’s imposition of “mandatory race-based eligibility requirements on the program.”
“Denying a student the chance to compete for a scholarship based on their skin color is not only discriminatory but also demeaning and unconstitutional,” emphasized Governor Scott Walker, president of Young America’s Foundation. “At YAF, we proudly defend our students’ right to be judged on their merit and abilities, not on race.”
Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said Wednesday’s lawsuit filed on behalf of YAF continues WILL’s “march through Biden-Harris radical DEI programs. We have already heard that the Administration knows they can’t win in court and so one-by-one we will terminate these discriminatory, taxpayer-funded efforts,” Lennington added.
The McNair Program’s eligibility requirements are, of course, racist and blatantly unconstitutional as applied to YAF’s student plaintiffs Avery Durfee and Benjamin Rothove.
Durfee is a student at the University of North Dakota, a member of YAF, and the chairwoman of the UND Young Americans for Freedom chapter. As outlined in YAF’s lawsuit, “Durfee meets all the requirements for eligibility except one: she is not eligible to apply for the program because she is white.”
“I worked hard to get this far in my undergraduate program with a resume fit for graduate school,” remarked Durfee. “That is why being told I could not qualify for the McNair program because I am white was difficult to hear. This sends the wrong message to young Americans everywhere.”
Rothove is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of YAF. He too, as YAF’s complaint explains, “meets all the requirements for eligibility except one: he is not eligible to apply for the program because he is white.”
“I was excited when I learned about the McNair Program because I thought it would be a great way to help me get into graduate school,” recalled Rothove. “But when I realized that I did not qualify because of my race it was devastating,” he added. “This is the 21st Century — why are we continuing to separate and divide students?”
The McNair Program’s federal regulations state that the following groups are “ineligible” for benefits “unless they otherwise qualify as ‘low-income first-generation'” college students: Asian, white, Jewish, non-Hispanic Latino, and non-black individuals from Africa.
By using “‘race as a factor in affording educational opportunities among its citizens,’ the McNair Program violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection,” YAF’s lawsuit states.
To remedy this racist policy, YAF is seeking “a preliminary and permanent injunction, along with a declaratory judgment” that would prohibit the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Cardona from imposing race-based eligibility criteria.
View the full complaint here.
