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At a certain point the shock ceases to internally register and this is another one of those moments. The Department of Justice is reportedly launching a project aimed at diminishing affirmative action and suing universities that discriminate against white people who are applying to college.


The New York Times obtained an internal DOJ memo that detailed the new bureau. Though slightly vague, the document suggests that the department will “redistribute resources” from its civil rights division to a new division that will investigate schools for racial bias against white applicants.



From The Times:



“The document, an internal announcement to the civil rights division, seeks current lawyers interested in working for a new project on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.”﻿


While the memo doesn’t specifically say whether white people are unjustly discriminated against in the college admissions process (they’re not), it implies as much. The affirmative action move would certainly be in lockstep with the DOJ’s newly announced anti-LGBTQ polices.

As explained by The Times:

“The document does not explicitly identify whom the Justice Department considers at risk of discrimination because of affirmative action admissions policies. But the phrasing it uses, “intentional race-based discrimination,” cuts to the heart of programs designed to bring more minorities to university campuses.”

For the most part, any move towards inhibiting affirmative action would be more symbolic than effective, but the new bureau could definitely do some damage. In 2016, the Supreme Court upheld a University of Texas at Austin “race-conscious” admissions program.

As many Twitter users were swift in pointing out, white applicants are typically afforded immense advantages during the admissions process. Donations from parents, alumni status, and athletic commitments, are a form of affirmative action.


Activist Dr. Adrienne Keen poignantly explained on Twitter:


Trump, by the way, reportedly donated $1.4 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance where Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Tiffany Trump all attended.