Sevan Sinton
News Editor
On Jan. 28, a conservative advocacy organization filed a lawsuit against multiple Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education schools, including Millersville University, alleging discrimination against white and Asian students in a program that aimed to support minority participation in STEM.
The Equal Protection Project EPP alleges that the program is underinclusive, and its guidelines are discriminatory. The EPP is a non-profit watchdog group that, according to their website, is “devoted to the fair treatment of all persons without regard to race or ethnicity.”
“The Keystone LSAMP Alliance program violates Title VI because it conditions eligibility for participation on a student’s race and ethnicity,” the lawsuit says. The EPP says, “because the Alliance Members are public universities, their promotion and administration of this discriminatory program also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal funding.
The EPP’s lawsuit is aimed at Millersville, Slippery Rock, West Chester, and East Stroudsburg universities. The four schools are part of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a program designed for underrepresented groups in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The organization, in addition to providing financial stipends to participants, makes available multiple resources including mentorship, leadership and developmental training, science research, community building, and career preparation.
The program is listed available for the following groups:
- African Americans
- Hispanic Americans
- American Natives
- Alaska Natives
- Native Hawaiians
- Native Pacific Islanders
The EPP argues that the program violates “federal civil rights statutes,” pushing the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to “open a formal investigation” into the matter.
“Millersville University is dedicated to upholding our core values of exploration, professionalism, public mission, inclusion, integrity and compassion,” Millersville University responded in a statement on Tuesday. “We will continue to maintain an environment in which all members of our campus community feel safe and supported while pursuing their educational and professional goals.”
The statement also clarified that the university is “awaiting further guidance from the DOE and consulting with our legal counsel.”