Annandale, Va.
The latest assault on the higher education
establishment’s affirmative action programs is over an obscure, $500
private scholarship for minority students at a community college in
Northern Virginia.
The small amount of the scholarship belies what some national
experts believe could become a billion-dollar rout with far-reaching
consequences for minority students all across the country. Because they
enroll many minority students, community colleges and historically
Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) stand to lose the most.
The case trails a string of well-publicized controversies from
California and Texas reversing everything from minority admissions and
student outreach programs to financial aid and faculty hiring. But this
challenge is unprecedented not only because it originated at a
community college but because it delves into the murky matter of
private, not public funds.
“Everyone is very antsy about this,” says Everett V. Eberhardt, the
coordinator of affirmative action, minority and legal affairs at
Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), “because of the precedent
it could set.
“The question is: If you can challenge this scholarship program, if
it’s illegal to administer these private funds, then the next step is
to challenge funds like the United Negro College Fund and others who
give money to Black colleges,” he said.
Complainant Never Applied
