Six medical schools in New York state have been hit with civil rights complaints by white and asian teens who say the schools have made it easier for blacks and other races to join their introductory courses.
According to the Daily Mail, Columbia, NYU and other top institutions now face probes by the federal Department of Education, after six letters of complaint were filed with the DoE's civil rights office in New York.
The complaints, filed by the nonprofit Equal Protection Project (EPP), say the state's Science and Technology Entry Program (NY-STEP) makes it easier for some 7-12th graders to get a spot than others.
Under the scheme, students who are black, Latino, Alaskan native or American Indian can seek a place. Others — including whites and Asians — have to also show they're 'economically disadvantaged' to apply.
According to EPP founder William Jacobson, this "additional barrier to eligibility" is illegal.
"Erecting additional barriers for some races and ethnic groups in and of itself is unlawful discrimination," he told the Mail.
"Imagine if the roles were reversed, and these programs explicitly favored Asians and whites — there would be universal outrage and these medical schools would never accept such funding."
According to the report, the discriminatory schemes are designed to give "highly motivated" secondary school students access to the state's top medical schools, where they can learn key skills and obtain a mentor - with the goal to "increase the number of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students" in the medical field, according to Columbia's website.
Jacobson says that the policy unfairly assumes that all asian and white kids have it easy.
"The eligibility guidelines engage in the types of crude stereotypes that presume students of certain racial and ethnic groups are disadvantaged and in need of preference," he said.
According to EPP, the schools should face fines or lose federal funding.
The civil rights office is a 'neutral fact-finder' that aims to investigate complaints and propose resolutions, according to its website.
The letters refer to the US Supreme Court's decision in June to strike down affirmative action in college admissions.
The justices declared that race cannot be a factor in the process, forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.
EPP says it is against racial discrimination in college admissions.
Most of its cases and complaints involve discrimination against whites. -Daily Mail
Of note, black students made up one-tenth of those enrolled int he 2022-2023 year according to the report, while Latinos made up 12%.
