Civil Rights Complaint Against Santa Clara University Resolved

Photo by Dylan Ryu

The racial discrimination lawsuit filed against Santa Clara University has been resolved after the target of the complaint, the University’s Black Corporate Board Readiness program, changed the diction on their website to emphasize their acceptance of any applicant, regardless of race. 

William A. Jacobson, Cornell law professor and founder of the Equal Protection Project—the civil rights organization that filed the complaint—told The Santa Clara that he was pleased with the outcome of the group’s complaint. 

“We consider (it) a win when we stop the discriminatory conduct because of our complaint,” he said in a telephone interview. “What that looks like is really up to the school.”

He asserts the group’s ultimate goal is to encourage and ensure participation by all students. “Nothing we've done excludes anybody from any program,” Jacobson said. “Our challenge to this program at Santa Clara did not in any way suggest that black students could not participate.” 

Jacobson flatly rejected accusations by critics who claim the Equal Protection Project is simply a vehicle for hateful attacks against students of color. 

“We're seeking to do nothing more than require the schools to live up to their own set of rules and their own goals,” he said. “I don't see how anybody legitimately could claim that's hateful. We consider ourselves not just legally correct; we consider ourselves on the right side of history.”