The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo is facing a federal civil rights complaint over two pre-college medical science programs that allegedly use racial preferences in the admissions process.
The Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Project filed the complaint Tuesday against SUNY Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine for two programs that “explicitly give admissions preference based on race and skin color.” The school’s Medical Science Technology Entry Program for high school students and Middle School Summer Enrichment Program for students in the seventh and eight grades prefer students who “identify as ‘Black/African-American,’ ‘American Indian/Alaska Native’ and ‘Hispanic/ Latino,'” according to the complaint.
“By implementing racially discriminatory policies with regard to high school and middle school student programs, SUNY Buffalo is doing damage beyond the institution,” William A. Jacobson, founder of Equal Protection Project, said in a statement. “It is teaching youth that treating people differently based on race and color is acceptable. But such discrimination never is acceptable, and SUNY Buffalo needs to lead by example.”