A civil-rights complaint has been filed against a Buffalo Medical school due to its summer program’s preference for non-White applicants
White applicants must prove that they are ‘economically disadvantaged or historically underrepresented’
The State University of New York’s Buffalo School of Medicine is facing a federal civil-rights complaint filed by an advocacy group over its two separate summer programs, which give preference to non-White students while requiring White students to demonstrate economic disadvantage or historical underrepresentation.
The complaint, submitted on June 25 by the Equal Protection Project (EPP) to the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, alleges that the school’s racial preference program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The summer programs in question are the Medical Science Technology Entry Program (STEP) for high school students and the Middle School Summer Enrichment Program for 7th and 8th graders. Both programs grant preferential treatment to students identifying as “Black/African-American,” “American Indian/Alaska Native,” and “Hispanic/Latino.”
The STEP program, funded by a New York State grant, aims to prepare economically disadvantaged or historically underrepresented secondary school students for college entry, especially in science, technology, health-related fields, and licensed professions.
civil-rights complaint has been filed against a Buffalo Medical school due to its summer program
To be eligible for admission, applicants to both programs must disclose their race and ethnicity. The STEP program explicitly targets minorities historically underrepresented in specific fields.
The EPP argues that such racial preferences violate the Equal Protection Clause, which mandates equal treatment by states. William Jacobson, the EPP’s president, stated that such policies teach the younger generation that racial discrimination is acceptable, emphasizing the need for equality and nondiscrimination.
The complaint calls on the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to take remedial action and eliminate racial discrimination from SUNY’s summer programs. Jacobson suggests a system-wide Equality Audit to identify and remove discriminatory practices.
The EPP firmly believes that eliminating racial discrimination should encompass all forms of it, as upheld by recent Supreme Court rulings.
