Last week, the U.S. Department of Education informed Princeton it was under investigation for violating the Civil Rights Act. It would seem the Department of Education had little choice. After all, the president of Princeton University, which annually collects $300 million in federal research funding and millions more in federal student financial aid, recently declared that his university is systematically racist.
On September 2, Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber issued a letter announcing that racism and oppression “persist at Princeton” and that this is “sometimes by conscious intention.” Eisgruber asserted that “racist assumptions from the past” remain “embedded in structures of the University itself.”
The problem here may be even bigger than is immediately apparent, given that Princeton’s leadership has consistently assured federal officials that racism is not “embedded” in the institution. Indeed, as a condition of receiving federal aid, the U.S. Department of Education asserted—and Princeton spokespeople later agreed—that, on multiple occasions since Eisgruber assumed the presidency in 2013, Princeton “has repeatedly represented and warranted to the US Department of Education” that it is in “compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.” That Act, of course, stipulates that no one, “on the ground of race, color, or national origin,” will be “subjected to discrimination.”
Princeton has long assured job applicants that “employment decisions in all University departments” are made without “discriminating against individuals on the basis” of race. Prospective students are likewise promised that Princeton doesn’t discriminate “in any phase of its admission or financial aid programs, or other aspects of its educational programs or activities.”
The U.S. Department of Education reasonably posits that Princeton officials “knew, or should have known, these assurances [of compliance with civil rights laws] were false at the time they were made.” The Department also raised the possibility that the university’s assurances of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity to potential employees and students may have run afoul of false advertising laws.
If President Eisgruber’s publicly issued, official statement is taken at face value–and it’s hard to quarrel with federal officers feeling obliged to take it just that way–then Princeton has been engaging in persistent racist conduct and lying about it, all in order to collect federal funds, attract potential employees, and recruit students. In short, Eisgruber seems to concede that Princeton has been violating federal law and engaging in fraudulent conduct.
Appropriately enough, the Department of Education is requiring that Princeton “produce each record” Eisgruber used to conclude that racism remains “embedded in structures of the University itself.” The Department also expects Princeton to produce a spreadsheet “identifying each person” who’s been “excluded from participating” in federally funded education programs due to Princeton’s racism. And the Department wants a transcribed interview, under oath, with President Eisgruber and at least one of his staff.
Remarkably, the Department’s move has been met by outrage by many on the left and in media. The American Council on Education’s senior vice president, Terry Hartle, called the investigation “a taxpayer-funded, politically motivated fishing expedition.” Matthew Yglesias, co-founder of Vox, labeled the investigation a “horrifying threat to free speech” and an “illustration of conservative hypocrisy.” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor,…
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