Once again, a leading California university is in the news over allegations that it favors some students over others.
asserted
it → lead → others
As The California Post reported exclusively, the US Department of Education is investigating UC Berkeley over three student programs and two scholarships that might discriminate based on race — and thus run afoul of civil rights law.
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that → report → law
The Legal Insurrection Foundation filed a federal complaint in February over the African American Student Development Office, the Black Resource Center, the Latinx Student Resource Center, the African American Initiative Scholarship and the Lloyd A. Edwards Scholarship.
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Foundation → file → Office
Now, that complaint has brought a probe by the feds.
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complaint → bring → feds
For too long, California universities have clung to racial preferences despite clear prohibitions in both state and federal law.
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universities → cling → law
It’s time that they dropped the DEI dogma, instead.
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they → ’ → dogma
Discrimination of any kind is wrong, and UC leaders know it’s unlawful.
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it → know → kind
The California electorate has rejected racial favoritism on state campuses, including with Proposition 209 in 1996 and Proposition 16 in 2020.
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electorate → reject → 2020
And the US Supreme Court outlawed race-based preferences on campus in 2023, in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Yet somehow university administrators think they know better, and should get to decide.
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they → outlaw → College
That’s not how it works, though.
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it → ’ → ?
Berkeley and UC need to follow the law, not flout it.
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Berkeley → need → it
And they need to respect, nurture and support all students, not just those whose skin tones they prefer.
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they → need → tones
In fact, Berkeley, arguably the nation’s premier public university, should be leading the way academically — and setting an example administratively.
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Berkeley → lead → example
It should drop the racial biases.
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It → drop → biases
It should ensure that programs and scholarships are open to all students, as the law requires.
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law → ensure → students
And it should realize that universities do best as hubs of learning and open inquiry, not factories of ideology.
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universities → realize → ideology
Sadly, Berkeley and its peers in California haven’t reached this benchmark.
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Berkeley → reach → benchmark
Per William A. Jacobson, president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation: “We do find California to be one of the leading offenders as a state.”
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California → find → state
Cal alone faces several other federal civil rights probes into various allegedly discriminatory programs.
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Cal → face → programs
And the US departments of Justice and Education found that Berkeley’s law school improperly used racial bias in admissions in 2024 and 2025.
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school → find → 2024
It’s wrong to ask students (or taxpayers, who fund the vast majority of California scholarships) to spend tens of thousands of dollars on ideology — a poor value proposition and a big reason some skip college altogether.
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some → ’ → college
If UC wants to keep its prestige in an age of AI, high costs and soaring demand for vocational training, it would do well to refocus.
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it → want → training
Cal’s mission is “to provide long-term societal benefit through excellent research, teaching, and public service.”
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mission → provide → research
The Aporia
