(The Center Square) – University of California, San Diego has renamed one of its scholarship programs following a legal settlement with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which sought to ensure equal treatment and educational opportunity for all students regardless of race.
After settling the case, Californians for Equal Rights v. UC San Diego, et al., the university changed the name of its Black Alumni Scholarship Fund to the Goins Alumni Scholarship Fund, honoring Dr. Lennon Goins, a UCSD alumnus.
The lawsuit, filed in July in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, was brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation representing the plaintiffs – the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation and UCSD senior Kai Peters, among others. They alleged the university’s previous scholarship program violated federal anti-discrimination laws.
“An institution’s use of race or ethnicity that is in any way motivated by prejudice or a stereotype against a particular group violates Title VI,” the complaint stated.
According to the lawsuit, the BASF scholarship was racially exclusive and excluded non-Black students from consideration.
“Despite meeting the academic and eligibility criteria, they were excluded from receiving information about the scholarship and from applying for its financial and mentorship benefits, which are made available only to Black applicants,” the lawsuit claimed.
The BASF has been a privately funded scholarship for Black UCSD students, providing awards of up to $10,000 to those maintaining at least a 2.7 grade point average and participating in campus programs.
“The denial of access to educational resources on the basis of race has caused them tangible harm, including lost opportunities for financial support, mentoring relationships, and professional development,” the lawsuit stated.
Following the settlement, PLF attorney Jack Brown said the case reaffirmed the constitutional principle of equal protection.
“No student should be excluded from a scholarship program based on his or her immutable characteristics,” Brown said.
In an exclusive interview, Peters told The Center Square he never attempted to apply for the scholarship because he knew his application would be rejected.
This lawsuit does not attempt to tell those in need of financial assistance that they should suffer. Rather, “If you apply for a needs-based scholarship and meet the needed criteria, you should get it,” Peters said. “But what you can’t do, and this is what this lawsuit resolved, is say some races are more worthy of assistance than others.”
All students are in need of scholarship money because college is so expensive, and the university should take steps to lower the burden on students and make college cheaper, he added.
“Why is it society’s responsibility to coddle a small minority when we could take so many different steps that would help them in much more substantial ways?” Peters asked.
The lawsuit concluded that while UCSD can design scholarships to promote academic success, it “cannot use race to favor some applicants at the expense of others.”
The Center Square reached out to the African Student Association, the Black Student Union and UCSD officials for comment, but did not receive a response.
