The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a conservative Wisconsin legal center, filed a lawsuit against the Biden-Harris administration Tuesday alleging the U.S. Department of Education’s $60 million Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program unlawfully excludes students on the basis of race.
WILL is representing Young America’s Foundation, the University of North Dakota chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom and two students including University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore Benjamin Rothove.
In their lawsuit, WILL claimed certain minority groups receive preferences from the program, which they claim excludes “Asians, whites, Arabs, and some Latinos,” violating the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.
Two thirds of participants in the McNair program must be low-income, potential first-generation college students, according to the Department of Education. The remaining participants may be from groups underrepresented in graduate education.
The McNair program defines “underrepresented groups” as Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiians and Native American Pacific Islanders, according to the lawsuit. Other groups may be designated as “underrepresented” if documented with statistical evidence, but WILL said it is unaware of any such designation ever made by the program.
The lawsuit claims Rothove contacted a UW-Madison official who said he was ineligible to apply for the program “because of his race.” Rothove is not a first-generation college student and does not meet the McNair federal income guidelines, according to the lawsuit.
“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,” Rothove said. “But when I realized that I did not qualify because of my race it was devastating. This is the 21st Century — why are we continuing to separate and divide students?”
According to a report published by the McNair Program, 21% — about 1,200 — participants were not from underrepresented groups.
Tomer Ronen is the Features Editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has written in-depth for sports and has covered protests, state politics, breaking and campus news. Follow him on Twitter at @TRonen22.
