Questions are raised by a new executive award for “women and immigrants” at Louisiana University.
According to a civil rights specialist, a scholarship offered to “women and immigrants” at Northwestern State University is probably prohibited.
Tom and Katy Hall “established an endowed fellowship” which they “hope…will allow women and minorities who are underrepresented in the executive profession”, to do that job way, according to a news release.
The Hall Family Scholarship at the open Louisiana school “definitely” violates Title IX’s ban on gender bias, according to a civil rights activist.
Financial aid programs that” On the basis of gender, provide different amounts or types of such aid, control eligibility for such support which is of any specific type or source, utilize different criteria, or otherwise discriminate” are specifically prohibited under Title IX.
” The 14th Amendment mandates that no state can deny equal protection of the laws”, Ed Bartlett, founder of Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, said via email to The College Fix.  ,
His group advocates for equal treatment and equal access for all students, regardless of sex.
” Unfortunately, many colleges have misinterpreted the constitutional requirement for’ equal opportunity’ as a mandate for’ uniform outcomes,'” the civil rights activist said. That Marxist interpretation of “equality” does a great disservice to male students and ultimately to our country.
When asked what suggestions he had for universities to make to ensure that their scholarship programs protect the rights of all students, Bartlett said universities should “eliminate all sex-specific scholarships” or make sure that all pre-existing sex-specific scholarships are proportionately available to both male and female students.
The Fix contacted none of the offices in the past week who contacted them via email or phone to inquire about the program’s legality.
The College Fix reached out to several Northwestern State offices, including the department of engineering technology, the news bureau, the director of public information and media relations, the office of institutional effectiveness, and the general counsel.
Further clarification regarding Title IX’s application to single-sex scholarships and programs was made available by the Office for Civil Rights in a series of questions and answers. In general, schools are unable to “promote third-party scholarships, fellowships, or other forms of financial assistance to its students if those scholarships impose a preference or restriction on the basis of sex with respect to a scholarship.”
The Hall Family Scholarship at Northwestern State University is not just another legal issue.
Bartlett’s group reviewed over 200 American colleges and universities in 2019 and found a significant preference for women over men in sex-specific scholarships. In fact, “57 % of institutions offer scholarships that facially violate provisions of Title IX that ban sex-based discrimination”, according to the study.
According to a report from The Fix, a college in Alabama is providing$ 75, 000 in trade scholarships to women in order to encourage female involvement in automotive technology and welding. Bartlett claimed that this program also violates Title IX.
The University of Iowa‘s Velma E. Stuit and Myrtle K. Maier Scholarships, several other scholarships offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale’s University Women’s Organization Scholarship Program are other examples of sex-specific scholarships.
MORE: 92 percent of sex-specific scholarships are reserved for women, study finds
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