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Sponsored by 710 BookStore - - - http://www.seventen.com/University faces federal lawsuit
Zack Quaintance
Daily Egyptian
Experts and government officials say three graduate fellowship programs at SIUC exclude students based on race and gender, and if the University does not change the programs, it will be vulnerable to a lawsuit.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the University stating three graduate scholarships programs are unfair to whites, males and others. Further, it said they must be eliminated before Nov. 18, or the federal agency would seek legal action, Chancellor Walter Wendler said.
Justice Department officials have not commented on the letter.
Wendler responded Wednesday requesting a meeting to discuss the matter with agency officials. The chancellor said Sunday he has examined the programs thoroughly and not seen racial exclusivity.
"I believe these are (open to all students), but there may be preferences built into them," he said.
The Justice Department's letter identifies three fellowships, the Proactive Recruitment and Multicultural Professionals for Tomorrow, the Graduate Dean's and the Bridge to Doctorate, Wendler said.
However, some local experts disagree.
Leonard Gross, a law school professor at SIUC who has authored several books, said, "I don't think it's about SIU. I think it's about the fact we have race-only scholarships."
Two of the three awards are partially financed through student tuition. Since 2000, the three programs combined awarded 129 fellowships and12 percent of the recipients were white, according to information from SIUC.
The white students were all women who had overcome hardships, Pat McNeil, an assistant dean and administrator of the Underrepresented Fellowships Office, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
"I'll be upfront with you ? no white male gets this award," McNeil told the paper.
Experts, civil rights groups and an anti-affirmative action think tank have warned the University in the past.
In a 2003 story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the American Civil Rights Institute, a California group aimed at educating the public on racial and gender policies, pressured SIUC to change racially exclusive scholarships. According to the story, the University agreed to change the programs.
Roger Clegg of the Center for Equal Opportunity, an anti-affirmative action think tank, said his group filed a complaint against the University last year.
"We have contacted hundreds of schools over the past few years about programs like this," Clegg said. "The overwhelming majority have changed the programs after we contacted them."
The complaint was not exclusive to white students, he said. His group is working to ensure awards go to disadvantaged students regardless of race or gender.
On SIUC's Web site, history professor Jonathan Bean is listed as an expert on affirmative action and has written a book on the subject. Bean said the programs are vulnerable to lawsuits and he has warned administrators in the past.
"It was clear time was running out for SIU's racially exclusive regime," Bean said.
As a member of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee for the past three years and in a letter to the group dated Dec. 8, 2002, Bean warned of judicial consequences for not changing certain scholarships.
Wendler noted the comments saying, "If there's a committee, there's going to be all kinds of perspectives."
The letter reportedly said three fellowships violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A 2003 Supreme Court decision involving the University of Michigan set a precedent for affirmative action policies at state universities. In Grutter vs. Bollinger, the court ruled 5-4 that race could influence admission decisions if it was not the sole factor.
"Since the Michigan case, we've been very careful," Wendler said.
The chancellor said he expects to meet with Justice Department officials some time next week. Wendler would not say whether the University would fight a lawsuit but said he was hopeful the matter could be resolved in the meeting.
Yet, Bean, Gross and other experts said they believe without change, the University is vulnerable to being sued.
"I hope and pray that SIU will comply with the law and treat all students equally," Bean said.
The Daily Egyptian, the student-run newspaper of SIUC, is committed to being a trusted source of information, commentary and public discourse while helping readers understand the issues affecting their lives.
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester. The Pulse, Carbondale Entertainment Guide, is published once a week on Thursday.Last update: Sunday, November 13, 2005 at 8:10:02 PM
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