WASHINGTON — A public college in Colorado has been hit with two federal civil rights complaints alleging that 20 scholarship packages are both illegally race-based or reserved for undocumented immigrants, The Publish has discovered.
Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSU Denver) is accused of flouting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars establishments of upper studying that discriminate primarily based on race or nationwide origin from receiving federal funds.
The complaints by the Equal Safety Venture, a authorized watchdog, had been filed with the Training Division’s Workplace of Civil Rights on Friday.
“We predict it’s outrageous that universities funded by the federal authorities would have scholarships that discriminate towards American-born college students,” William Jacobson, Equal Safety Venture president and founder, informed The Publish.
Of the 20 MSU Denver packages in query, 11 seem like race-based whereas 9 are alleged to be open solely to unlawful immigrants and Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
Usually, the packages use imprecise language that doesn’t explicitly rule out non-minority college students, however implies they gained’t be favored for awards.
For instance, the Stephen & Ruth Jordan Pupil Entry Endowed Scholarship says desire is given to first-generation college students in addition to “members of an ethnic minority.”
One other, the Irv Brown Endowed Scholarship, spells out an award of $3,000 or extra to “undocumented and worldwide college students.”
MSU Denver, based in 1965, has a pupil inhabitants of roughly 17,000 undergrads and 57% of enrollees are non-white, in accordance to the college’s personal web site.
The varsity boasts of its standing as a “Hispanic-Serving Establishment … dedicated to serving DACA and undocumented college students.”
“MSU Denver seeks to advertise an inclusive group of learners, an consciousness and appreciation of numerous views and identities, and the institution of insurance policies, practices, packages, and sources designed to embrace and improve variety, fairness, and inclusion at MSU Denver,” the hompage proclaims.
A spokesperson claimed that the varsity “recurrently opinions scholarship standards to make sure compliance with present federal and state legislation.”
“MSU Denver’s modified open-access mission guides how we help all college students, that means college students who’re at the least 20 years outdated with a highschool diploma or GED are robotically admitted per state legislation,” the spokesperson stated.
“The college awards greater than $97 million in grants and scholarships to college students of all backgrounds. These awards take away monetary obstacles for practically 60% of MSU Denver college students, setting them up for achievement of their careers and communities.”
Final summer season, the Training Division’s Workplace of Civil Rights introduced probes into 5 faculties and universities over the awarding of scholarships primarily based on nationwide origin.
Since President Trump reclaimed the White Home final yr, Jacobson claims, many faculties and universities are rebranding and “hiding” discriminatory packages — together with by requiring pupil login credentials to view scholarship conditions.
“They used to brag about it beneath the Biden administration,” he stated of the discriminatory practicies. “Our problem for 2026 is unmasking them.”
The Equal Safety Venture focuses on submitting federal complaints towards faculties and universities over scholarships and different packages that allegedly violate the Civil Rights Act.
The group is guided by the philosophy that “there isn’t a ‘good’ type of racism.”
