Thanks to a lawsuit, a School at UC Berkeley is forced to end discrimination in the enrollment process.
“EPP’s Complaint then went on to explain in detail why and how such a racially discriminatory program violated Title VI, which prohibits racial discrimination in any program run by any entity that receives federal funding. The Complaint also explained that “because Haas is a public institution, its offering and administering of this discriminatory program also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment [of the United States Constitution].”
The Complaint caused a small flurry of media reporting, including stories by Fox News, Campus Reform, and others.
So we here at EPP were hopeful that OCR would open an investigation into the goings on at Haas and shut down their obviously racially discriminatory program.
But Haas and OCR did one better. Haas voluntarily opened its Haas Thrive Fellows Program to all applicants as a result of EPP’s Complaint, and on January 15, 2025, EPP received a letter from OCR indicating that it was closing the case it had opened based on EPP’s Complaint because the case was now “resolved”:
Now, we have the Trump Administration. Instead of private organizations fighting discrimination, we have the Federal government. Watch as many of these discriminatory practices end. All it will take is a letter from the DOJ—and the Office of Civil Rights, headed by Harmeet Dhillon.
“Since you filed your complaint, OCR has confirmed that the Program is open to anyone regardless of race, color, or national origin”
Posted by James Nault, Legal Insurrection, 2/9/25 https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/uc-berkeley-haas-school-of-business-opens-program-to-all-races-after-equal-protection-project-challenge/?vcrmeid=eHlRtCDH50OvAUHX8Zqdg&vcrmiid=c9hZN9_XdUu5iqV8z3A7aw
You may recall that in September 2024, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) (equalprotect.org) filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) against the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business (“Haas”) for a racially discriminatory program open only to “Latinx/Hispanic” students: “Latinx/Hispanic” Only Program At UC Berkeley Haas Business School Challenged By Equal Protection Project:
Almost all of our actions have addressed discrimination in higher education. In our latest action, we have filed a Civil Rights Complaint (full embed at bottom of post) with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, against the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, regarding an MBA preparatory program open only to “Latinx/Hispanic” students.
From the Civil Rights Complaint:
We make this civil rights complaint against the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley (“Haas”), a public institution that offers, promotes, and administers a race- and national origin-based “MBA access program” called the Haas Thrive Fellows program, whose purpose, according to its website, is “to educate, prepare, and motivate Latinx/Hispanic individuals to apply and succeed at a top business school, and support their career advancement” as part of “our commitment to increase the Latinx/Hispanic population within the graduate management community.”
Such statements clearly signal to non-Latinx/Hispanic students that they are not eligible and need not apply. Indeed, an August 2023 guidance issued by OCR provides that “[i]n determining whether an opportunity to participate is open to all students, OCR may consider, for example, whether advertisements or other communications would lead a reasonable student … to understand that all students are welcome to participate.” Here, any reasonable person would understand that all students are not welcome to participate in the Haas Thrive Fellows program.
Participants in the Haas Thrive Fellows program attend monthly meetings at which they receive, among other things, free GMAT or GRE preparation, information on graduate business admissions and financial aid, networking opportunities and “[c]ulturally relevant programming addressing the unique needs of Latinx/Hispanics in management and leadership in the US.”
These benefits, however, are only available to “Latinx/Hispanic individuals,” and advance UC Berkeley’s self-described “bold goal” of “transforming” itself within ten years into a “Hispanic Serving Institution,” or “HSI,” that “enroll[s] and educate[s] Latinx students through a culturally-enhancing approach that centers Latinx ways of knowing and being” in order to “reflect[ ] the demographics” of California and to be “a vehicle for social … equity.”
[emphasis added]
EPP’s Complaint then went on to explain in detail why and how such a racially discriminatory program violated Title VI, which prohibits racial discrimination in any program run by any entity that receives federal funding. The Complaint also explained that “because Haas is a public institution, its offering and administering of this discriminatory program also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment [of the United States Constitution].”
The Complaint caused a small flurry of media reporting, including stories by Fox News, Campus Reform, and others.
So we here at EPP were hopeful that OCR would open an investigation into the goings on at Haas and shut down their obviously racially discriminatory program.
But Haas and OCR did one better. Haas voluntarily opened its Haas Thrive Fellows Program to all applicants as a result of EPP’s Complaint, and on January 15, 2025, EPP received a letter from OCR indicating that it was closing the case it had opened based on EPP’s Complaint because the case was now “resolved”:
Under subsection 110(d) of OCR’s Case Processing Manual (CPM) (July 18, 2022), OCR will dismiss a complaint when OCR obtains credible information indicating that the allegations have been resolved, the facts underlying the allegation are no longer present, and OCR has no evidence the law is violated. At the time you filed your complaint, the Program’s description on the University’s website included language that indicated that it was exclusively for “Latinx/Hispanic” individuals. Specifically, as you described in your complaint, the Program’s webpage at Haas Thrive Fellows – Diversity – Berkeley Haas described that its purpose is to “educate, prepare, and motivate Latinx/Hispanic individuals to apply and succeed at a top business school, and support their career advancement” as part of the Business School’s commitment to “increase the Latinx/Hispanic population within the graduate management community.”
* * * *
Since you filed your complaint, OCR has confirmed that the Program is open to anyone regardless of race, color, or national origin. The Program’s website contains a link to the University’s Latinx Thriving Initiative which describes the University’s goal of becoming an HSI. While the Program has a goal of supporting Latinx/Hispanic individuals to apply to graduate business school and a University-wide goal of becoming an HSI, since you filed your complaint, the University changed information on the Program’s website so that the Program’s website now also makes it clear that the Program is open to anyone regardless of race, color, or national origin through its prominently displayed “Frequently Asked Questions.” The first question listed is the following, “Do I have to have a Latinx or Hispanic identity to participate in the Thrive Fellows?” The answer provided on the website states, “No. The Thrive Fellows program is open to anyone. Our Thrive Fellows alumni community includes people who do not identify as Latinx or Hispanic.” Additionally, the University has now clarified that the Program’s eligibility criteria do not include any race, color, or national origin requirements. The eligibility criteria state that “Any applicants who meet the following criteria are invited to apply” (emphasis in the original)…
Currently, the eligibility criteria for the Program do not exclude based on race, color, or national origin and the Program is open to any individual who meets the criteria regardless of race, color, or national origin. Because OCR has obtained credible information indicating that the allegations in your complaint are resolved, the facts underlying the allegations are no longer present, and OCR has no evidence the law is violated, OCR is dismissing the complaint.
[bold emphasis added]
EPP considers this case a “WIN” because the formerly racially discriminatory program has been opened to applicants of all backgrounds.
