Assistant secretary for civil rights said that Harvard Law Review’s article selection process ‘appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race’.
Federal officials are investigating Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review over allegations of race-based discrimination in the journal’s operations.
The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the probe on Monday, following reports that Harvard Law Review allegedly used “race-based criteria” for its journal membership and article selection process in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The departments stated that they received information alleging that a Harvard Law Review editor said it was “concerning” that most individuals who wanted to respond to an article about police reform are “white men.”
Another editor allegedly suggested that an article be given expedited review on the basis that “the author was a minority,” the departments stated. It remains unclear who brought the allegations.
“Title VI’s demands are clear: recipients of federal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin,” Trainor stated. “The Trump Administration will not allow Harvard, or any other recipients of federal funds, to trample on anyone’s civil rights.”
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The departments stated that the investigation will examine Harvard’s relations with the journal, including financial ties, oversight procedures, selection policies, and other documentation for both membership and article publication processes.
“This investigation reflects the administration’s common-sense understanding that these opportunities should be earned through merit-based standards and not race,” Anthony Archeval, acting director of HHS Office for Civil Rights, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Harvard Law said in a statement that a federal court dismissed a similar claim in 2018.
“Harvard Law School is committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations,” spokesperson Jeff Neal told the Associated Press. “The Harvard Law Review is a student-run organization that is legally independent from the law school.”
A Harvard University representative told Reuters that the school is “committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations.”
The Epoch Times has contacted Harvard for additional comment.
The lawsuit, filed on April 21, alleged that the federal government’s actions in this case violate Harvard’s Constitutional rights to free speech. It also stated there is no connection between the medical research funded by federal grants and campus anti-Semitism.
“The president has made it quite clear that it’s Harvard who has put themselves in the position to lose their own funding by not obeying federal law, and we expect all colleges and universities who are receiving taxpayer funds to abide by federal law,” Leavitt said.
Protests erupted across universities in the United States after Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip with the stated goal of eradicating the Hamas terrorist group. The operation was retaliation for a land, sea, and air attack carried out by Hamas on southern Israel on Oct. 7. 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.
Jewish students at Harvard reported incidents of harassment following Hamas’s attacks. Students sued the school, and its former president, Claudine Gay, resigned after congressional hearings on campus anti-Semitism.
Aaron Gifford and Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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