Civil rights group files complaint against University of San Diego for alleged race discrimination

EXCLUSIVE - A complaint filed by a civil rights organization on Wednesday claims that the University of San Diego is discriminating on the basis of race. 

"The Equal Protection Project calls on the senior administration of SDU to make sure nondiscrimination standards are upheld throughout the university," Cornell professor William Jacobson and founder of the Equal Protection Project, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

"SDU should know better than to run scholarships that exclude students based on race, color, or ethnicity," Jacobson added. "Where were the administrators and staff whose jobs supposedly are devoted to preventing discrimination? Why was there no intervention to uphold the legally required equal access to education?"

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In the complaint, filed Wednesday, the Equal Protection Project alleges that 6 of USD’s scholarship programs violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits educational institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. 

"We write in connection with the University of San Diego, a private university, arising from its race- and ethnicity- based discrimination in violation of Title VI," the complaint states. 

The scholarships the Equal Protection Project believes are in violation of Title VI include The FUSO Alumni Network Scholarship, which says preference will be given a Filipino student, the Comité México Scholarship, which requires students of Mexican or Mexican-American heritage, and the Black Alumni Network Scholarship, which would give preference to a Black student.

Similarly, the Latino Alumni Network Scholarship gives preference to latino students, students of color are the preference for the Augusto Boal Endowed Scholarship, and students of color are also the top choice for the Gwendolyn Brooks Endowed Scholarship for the Study of the Humanities, according to the complaint. 

Fox News Digital reached out to University of San Diego for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

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The complaint highlights a Friday "Dear Colleague" letter from Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, that reaffirms the protections of Title VI. 

"If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law," Trainor wrote. 

"Federal law thus prohibits covered entities from using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life," he added. "Put simply, educational institutions may neither separate or segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race." 

In the letter, Trainor says that schools that do not comply with the Title VI guidance risk losing federal funding. 

San Diego University receives millions of dollars in federal funds for research and students can apply for federal aid to help pay for tuition. 

Jacobson told Fox News Digital that the news guidance from OCR removes any confusion as to how Title VI should be enforced. 

"The February 14, 2025, Civil Rights Guidance issued by OCR reiterates and makes crystal clear what has always been the law, that 'under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal,'" Jacobson said. "It does not matter what schools call it –  'anti-racism' or 'diversity, equity, and inclusion,' or something else - what matters is that no measure of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin is permitted."

Jacobson said that he hopes the Department of Education will not delay in enforcing Title VI. 

"While the federal Department of Education is in a transition period with the change in administrations, we call on the Office for Civil Rights to continue to enforce the legal standards that apply to schools receiving federal funding, particularly as to race, color, and national origin," Jacobson said. "A transition period should not delay civil rights enforcement."