The Department of Education has commenced an investigation of Princeton University in New Jersey after its president Christopher Eisgruber published an open letter on Sept. 2, acknowledging the presence of “systemic racism” in the institution. The department opened the investigation on the grounds that the university violated anti-discrimination laws it was supposed to follow so that it could receive federal funding.
According to the letter, Princeton has received federal taxpayer funds after it proved compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” It also mentioned that Princeton University has received more than $75 million in Title VI federal funds ever since Einsgruber became president in 2013.
However, Eisgruber’s open letter became a cause of concern for the Education Department as the university’s declarations of non-discrimination and equal opportunity from at least 2013 until the present “may have been false.” In addition, the university’s non-discrimination and equal opportunity claims to its stakeholders for education certificates appeared to be false and misleading -- even violating several laws.
If found guilty, Princeton will no longer receive monetary support from the federal government—and may even be ordered to return money it received as part of Title VI programs.
Princeton’s moves to address “systemic racism” came at a great cost
Einsgruber’s open letter acknowledged that “racist assumptions from the past … remain embedded” in the university’s structures. He compared the single African studies program in the university that was relatively small with the departments and programs organized around European languages and culture “inherited from earlier generations.”
Efforts to “address systemic racism” kicked off with changes and initiatives announced in June, the letter also said. Some of these measures included recruiting the number of faculty members “from underrepresented groups over the next five years,” establishing a committee in charge of naming and campus iconography and reviewing the university’s benefits and policies to benefits employees “disproportionately affected by systemic racism.”
According to a piece by PJ Media writer Tyler O’Neil, Einsgruber apparently wrote the letter as a form of virtue signaling in order to convince people that America is “institutionally racist.” However, the move backfired and instead became a confession that the school violated federal discrimination laws -- prompting the response.
This was not the first time Princeton came under the spotlight for its moves against systemic racism.
Earlier in June, the university’s board of trustees voted to remove former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from its School of Public and International Affairs. In a statement, the university said that the former president’s “racist thinking and policies” did not align with its efforts to combat “the scourge of racism in all its forms.”
In September 2019, the university removed the GRE test requirement for 14 graduate school programs as a way to encourage more diverse graduate students to apply.
Classics professor Johannes Haubold said that there were concerns about standardized tests such as the GRE being “culturally biased in favor of certain groups.” Neuroscience professor Mala Murthy said that her department was convinced by research suggesting that the GRE was “biased against underrepresented groups” and acknowledged that taking the examination was expensive.
Left-leaning universities practice racism in their implementation of “anti-racism” measures
A number of universities are following the trend of implementing measures that address systemic racism but are actually racist and discriminatory policies themselves. (Related: Thomas Sowell: ‘Systemic racism’ has ‘no meaning’.)
In August, Rutgers University -- also in New Jersey -- changed its standards of English instruction in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead of teaching English in its standard academic form, the university’s English department will use the “critical grammar” approach that focuses on “a more inclusive writing experience.”
Speech pathologist and libertarian activist Leonydus Johnson called Rutgers’ change in English instruction standards “insulting, patronizing and ... extremely racist,” adding that people in America who claim to be against racism are often racist themselves.
Find out more news about left-leaning educational institutions violating federal discrimination laws with their “anti-discrimination” measures at CampusInsanity.com.
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