If there are to be programs that favor low income individuals, and I think there should be, then these programs need to be made available to all low income individuals and families of all races.
Seems like common sense to me, and especially since in June the Supreme Court ruled against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina’s affirmative action policies in a decision that had a profound effect on the admissions processes at universities across the country.
From the Daily Wire:
“A group of Asian parents filed a federal lawsuit this week claiming that New York’s state-funded STEM summer program is declining to accept their children in favor of black and Hispanic students.
The parents sued New York’s Department of Education on Wednesday, Jan 17, over the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), claiming that black and Hispanic kids are accepted to the program regardless of their income while Asian and white kids must show proof of their low-income status.
‘In other words, the Hispanic child of a multi-millionaire is eligible to apply to STEP, while an Asian American child whose family earns just above the state’s low-income threshold is not, solely because of her race or ethnicity,’ the lawsuit alleges.
The free program accepts about 11,000 students in 7th grade and up every year for classes at 56 colleges and medical schools across the state, the New York Post reported. The program features “instruction, exam preparation, hands-on and research training, college admissions guidance and career-focused activities such as field trips and college visits.”
The program’s website says it accepts ‘economically disadvantaged, or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Alaskan Native or American Indian” students.’”
Even though these STEP admission based criteria have been present since it’s inception in 1985, it is likely that these restrictions are no longer going to pass muster. If a program is for low income families, then it should be for all low income families, and only low income families.
1/22/24