Scholar contends that a waiver for BIPOC authors is” evidently unconstitutional.”
The founding director of Arkansas International Literary Magazine confirmed he is stepping over and a race-based cost waiver is the subject of controversy.
A former doctor and professor of Arkansas who is an expert on learning plan and former teacher told The College Fix that the magazine’s connections to the University of Arkansas and a distribution plan that offers a fee waiver for” those who identify as BIPOC” are raising legal red flags.
At the top of the publication’s online banner, Geoffrey Brock and his wife, writer Padma Viswanathan, appeared before late, listing itself as affiliated with the University of Arkansas. Both professors at the university are writers of imaginative reading.
But, Brock claimed for The College Fix that” the publication is no longer associated with the University of Arkansas in any way, is currently undergoing a restructuring, and I will also be stepping aside from it.”
In a new message, he said,” Many is up in the air.
According to its website, the literary magazine, which Brock founded in 2016, publishes” international books” and aims to “engage writers from all over the world in dialogue with one another.
According to its website, it has received federal financing from the school’s Chancellor’s Fund and federal funding from the school’s Chancellor’s Fund through its Writer-at-Risk Internship Program.
On the magazine’s Submittable website, it is noted that while Arkansas International does not take free proposals, it will waive the fee for those who use BIPOC, an abbreviation for dark, indigenous, and people of color.
The website states that while we are no longer accepting free submissions, we are happy to grant waivers to those who identify as BIPOC or need financial assistance.
When questioned about the exemption, Brock responded that he had already mentioned the journal’s restructuring. The Fix even inquired about the amount of exemptions, if any, the publication gave to BIPOC writers, and about college money for the magazine.
Brock even did not specify when or why the university’s relationship ended.
The magazine’s mast and webpage had not been updated to reflect Brock’s announced withdrawal or affiliation change at the time of release. The school Chancellor’s Fund is also listed on the Arkansas International‘s Writers-at-Risk Citizenship page as a sponsor.
The most recent matter was released in the fall of 2024.
But, a former professor at the University of Arkansas stated that he thinks the exemption may be against the law.
According to Jay Greene, the policy seems to violate legal protections, and public institutions are unable to legally implement racial-based fee structures.
Greene told The College Fix in a new email that” I was never aware of this unfair practice at the University of Arkansas.” Greene is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
After reviewing the waiver, Greene stated to The Fix,” This is obviously illegal. You are also prohibited from doing the opposite if you can’t charge a higher price to Black persons. We require the rules to be enforced.
The University of Arkansas’s John Thomas, the university’s media relations officer, even contacted The College Fix three times to inquire about the publication and the BIPOC exemption, but they did not respond.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in university admissions in 2023, raising the bar for racial efforts in all higher education.
Since then, The Fix has covered allegations that a number of higher education institutions have been sued or sued for making selecting and membership decisions reportedly based on a woman’s race, ethnicity, or sex.
Less: Tennessee university received civil rights lawsuit over 17 racial scholarships
A see in front of two new issues of Arkansas International publication, the Arkansas International, makes an offer to waive the surrender charge for BIPOC writers.
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