Both Ithaca College and the Ithaca City School District are currently being federally investigated in response to complaints filed by the Equal Protection Project, an organization founded by Prof. William Jacobson, a Cornell Law professor.
Jacobson created the EPP in 2023. In a statement to The Sun, Jacobson wrote that he founded the organization in response to “discrimination done in the name of DEI,” which they view as “a dehumanizing group ideology that reduces people to proxies for their group.”
Since its founding, the organization has challenged over 200 programs and scholarships at over 70 institutions over the past two years, according to Jacobson.
In June 2024, the EPP filed a complaint to the OCR, stating that two scholarships offered by Ithaca College violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which “prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.”
The EPP claimed that the African Latino Society Memorial Scholarship and Rashad G. Richardson “I Can Achieve” Memorial Scholarship were discriminatory because they were only offered to students of color.
These scholarships both aim to support students who have improved the lives of POC in the Ithaca community, according to Ithaca College’s website.
On March 13, Jacobson received a letter from the OCR that opened an investigation into his complaint to assess whether or not Ithaca College restricted access to scholarships based on race or color.
In a statement to The Sun, Dave Maley, director of public relations at Ithaca College, denied Jacobson’s allegations.
“Ithaca College does not discriminate on the basis of race in the awarding of the scholarships,” Maley wrote. “We are confident that our programs and resources are in compliance with applicable Civil Rights laws.”
According to Ithaca College’s scholarship descriptions, ideal candidates for the scholarships would “have made significant contributions toward improving the quality of life for BIPOC youth” and “[exemplified] leadership in programs with the BIPOC Unity Center or other programs across campus.” Race or color are not listed as criteria for the scholarships.
However, according to the EPP complaint, a previous version of the website stated that the Richardson Scholarship was to be awarded to “a high-achieving, student of color” and the ALS scholarship to “a student of color at Ithaca College who has made significant contributions to the Ithaca College campus.”
Jacobson wrote that the EPP’s goal was “not to terminate the scholarships, but to remove discriminatory eligibility criteria.”
He emphasized that any exclusionary language could dissuade white students from applying for these scholarships.
“Think of it as a store hanging a ‘no blacks allowed’ sign on the door,” Jacobson wrote.
Just two months after filing a complaint against Ithaca College, the EPP filed another complaint — this time against the Ithaca City School District on Aug. 12.
The complaint was regarding the school district’s Students of Color United Summit, an event aiming to uplift students of color from within the ICSD. The event’s website, which has since been taken down, specified that it was a “closed event ONLY for SOC from 6th-12th grade.”
On May 28, 2024, the EPP sent a letter to Luvelle Brown, superintendent of the ICSD, and Sean Eversley Bradwell, president of the Ithaca Board of Education. In the letter, the EPP alleged that the SOCU was attempting to “segregate students by race.”
Two days after the EPP’s letter was delivered, the ICSD sent out a mass email apologizing for “exclusionary language” and stating that “SOCU is open to all of our secondary students.”
However, the EPP felt that there was still compelling evidence that ICSD violated federal law, and on Aug. 12 they filed a complaint with the OCR.
According to Jacobson, the complaint “[laid] out in exhaustive detail, with screenshots and links, a four-year-long effort to exclude white ICSD students from the SOCU Summits.”
On Jan. 27, the OCR informed the EPP that they were launching an investigation into the SOCU.
More than a year prior, on March 14, 2023, the Parents Defending Education, an organization that seeks to “fight indoctrination” in schools by deemphasizing students’ group identities, filed a complaint with the OCR against the ICSD regarding a different event for students of color.
However, this complaint was dismissed by the OCR six months later on the basis that the ICSD had informed the OCR that these discriminatory practices were not taking place.
Jacobson wrote that the Trump administration has brought about “increased civil rights enforcement efforts,” which have aided the goals of the EPP.
Despite the presence of the investigation for Kathryn Cernera, president of the Ithaca Teachers Association, “the job [of teaching] hasn’t changed.” The most important thing Cernera says teachers must do is to remain calm and continue instruction as usual.
“Any expectations of the job that we do haven't changed in light of an investigation,” Cernera said. “I think that there were some teachers who needed to hear from leadership [to] … keep teaching the curriculum that [they] teach, make sure that what [they’re] doing is in line with New York State standards.”
She emphasized that the vision of the ITA remains the same, and that they are committed to “pro-labor, anti racist and socially just practices … but also helping to make sure that [their] members know how to do that responsibly.”
After living through one term of the Trump administration, Cernera says people are paying better attention and acting more as a community than as individuals.
Since January, the EPP has not provided updates on the ICSD case, but Jacobson expressed hope that both Ithaca College and the ICSD would be found liable.
Jacobson suggested that the ICSD should “[come] clean to the community,” implement a “civil rights monitor” that would provide administrative oversight. They also suggested a monetary penalty for implementing DEI policies.
“The administrations of IC and ICSD have sought to obfuscate what they did and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing,” Jacobson wrote. “[There] needs to be accountability.”
