Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Education and its Secretary Miguel Cardona over a scholarship and career advancement program the organization says discriminates against Americans based of race.
“The Biden-Harris Administration runs a $60 million, nationwide scholarship and career-advancement program called the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program,” YAF’s complaint, filed with the University of North Dakota’s Young Americans for Freedom Chapter and two YAF students, explains.
The program “excludes many students because of their race,” the suit continues, adding that the defendants “impose mandatory race-based eligibility requirements” as part of the program.
“Defendants say these racial exclusions are necessary to racially balance the number of graduate students in America by giving a preference to so-called ‘underrepresented’ students,” the complaint says.
But the lawsuit goes on to say that the word “underrepresented” is a “euphemism for certain minority groups,” adding, “Asians are excluded. Arabs and other Middle Eastern ethnicities are excluded, including both students from Israel and Gaza. Even many Latinos and some Africans are excluded.”
“And, of course, whites are excluded,” the complaint adds.
“Denying a student the chance to compete for a scholarship based on their skin color is not only discriminatory but also demeaning and unconstitutional,” former Wisconsin Governor and YAF president Scott Walker said in a Wednesday press release. “At YAF, we proudly defend our students’ right to be judged on their merit and abilities, not on race.”
YAF and its fellow plaintiffs are represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), the press release noted.
Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for WILL, said the lawsuit continues the law firm’s “march through Biden-Harris radical DEI programs.”
“We have already heard that the Administration knows they can’t win in court and so one-by-one we will terminate these discriminatory, taxpayer-funded efforts,” Lennington said.
YAF’s student plaintiffs are University of North Dakota student Avery Durfee and University of Wisconsin-Madison student Benjamin Rothove. The lawsuit states that both Durfee and Rothove meet “all the requirements for eligibility except one,” which is they are white.
“I worked hard to get this far in my undergraduate program with a resume fit for graduate school,” Durfee said. “That is why being told I could not qualify for the McNair program because I am white was difficult to hear. This sends the wrong message to young Americans everywhere.”
Rothove said, “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.”
“But when I realized that I did not qualify because of my race it was devastating,” Rothove added. “This is the 21st Century — why are we continuing to separate and divide students?”
By using “race as a factor in affording educational opportunities among its citizens,” the McNair Program “violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection,” YAF’s lawsuit states.
Therefore, the organization is seeking “a preliminary and permanent injunction, along with a declaratory judgment” that would prohibit the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Cardona from imposing race-based eligibility criteria.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
