Legitimate organization claims the system is against the law
The leader of Northern Arizona University is directly responsible for a scholarship that appears to be only applicable to black students.
The W. E. B. The Du Bois Emerging Scholars Fellowship Award awards$ 5,000 to” do research, innovative scholarship, or an innovative initiative under the direction of a university mentor.”
” Kids from historically underserved origins, particularly those who identify as Black or African American, are highly encouraged to apply”, the award site says.
The university’s NAU Review reports that President José Rivera ( pictured ) and his wife, Rima Brusi, started the scholarship to “make transformational learning opportunities equitably accessible to talented undergraduate students of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences”.
Brusi is a teacher in the school’s honors school.
It is in its second year and will receive a portion of a$ 1 million donation from other supporters.
The Flagstaff University’s scholarship policy suggests that all students apply, but another comments from the school indicate that the university’s main objective is to fund exclusively black students.
With the founding and expansion of the W. E. B. According to NAU Review, the university has increased its assets in the past month by more than 70 %, according to the university’s du Bois Emerging Scholars Fellowship Award.
One success, Cassie Bonah, used the money to “organize a Black Fashion Show”, according to NAU Review.
In response to two email and phone calls regarding potential legal issues from The College Fix in the last two days, Northern Arizona University members did not respond.
The Phoenix section of 100 Black Men of America, which promotes opportunities for African-Americans, first responded to a request for comment, but it has since failed to follow-up after a follow-up try more than a year later.
According to the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, all Arizona colleges must adhere to the state constitution when it comes to racial discrimination.
In an email to The Fix, Director of Public Policy Matt Beienburg wrote that” the Arizona State Constitution makes it crystal clear that any attempt to justify doing so under national or state laws would have to be completely rejected.”
Although the application process does not specifically state a list of racial or ethnic groups,
Beienburg claims that in reality, it is infringing on the condition law.
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He claimed that any admissions requirements or scholarship program that excludes individuals based on race or gives them favorable care violates the state constitution. ” Even where program criteria are officially balanced, we have seen organizations across the country infuse unfair practices” into the real evaluation criteria used to evaluate applicants.
He added that” [s]imply allowing students of any race to apply on the front end does n’t necessarily mean that a program is legal… [just because ] the university just turns around and discriminates against members of undesirable identities on the back end.”
Different institutions have canceled courses with related terminology to this due to legality issues, such as one at the University of Maryland.
After The Fix revealed the potential legal issues, the university took down the page and reread it to be less certain about the “underrepresented” parties they “encouraged” to use.
Although glad of the school’s commitment to award options, Beienburg considers NAU’s honor to be “unacceptable”.
” Giving scholarship opportunities to individuals is a worthy cause, but cooling public support on a person’s body color may be unacceptable”.
Less: USC revises system for black students just after federal complaint
Photo: Northern Arizona University
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