Donald Trump’s administration has announced an investigation into hiring practices at the University of California (UC) system, the most recent instance of his conflict with higher education.
The UC system’s efforts to increase staff diversity were revealed by the Department of Justice on Thursday, and the agency accused the school of employing practices that “openly measure new hires by their race and sex.”
Diversity initiatives have previously been portrayed as a form of discrimination by the Trump administration.
The Civil Rights Division’s head, Harmeet Dhillion, stated in a statement that “public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination.”
Employers are posed by legal risk by institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices, according to federal law.
The Justice Department stated in a letter of notice to the University of California that it had “reasonable suspicions” that some of the school’s campuses had engaged in unlawful activity. However, it added that it had not “reached any conclusions about the investigation’s subject matter.”
With 10 campuses and more than 299, 000 students enrolled in the University of California system, one of the most well-known public university systems in the US.
In response to the investigation announcement, the school responded on Thursday by defending its hiring practices.
A UC system spokesperson stated in a statement that the university of California is committed to using fair and lawful methods in all of its programs and activities in accordance with state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The University also intends to create a welcoming and supportive campus atmosphere.
President Trump has not yet commented on the investigation, but during his second term in office, his administration has frequently clashed with academic institutions.
According to allegations that prestigious universities, including Harvard and Columbia, did not take enough action to stop campus protests against Israel’s occupation of Gaza, federal grants and contracts have been terminated.
According to the Trump administration, those protests were anti-Semitic and created a dangerous environment for Jews on college campuses.
Additionally, Trump and his allies have portrayed academic institutions as haven for radical political dissent. The Trump administration sent a letter outlining changes demands on April 11 for Harvard University in a letter sent by the administration on April 11.
One requirement was for Harvard to submit an external audit of its staff and enrollment in order to evaluate “viewpoint diversity” and implement “reforms” to its hiring and admissions procedures. According to the letter, the outside party would need to “satisfy the federal government.”
Harvard has objected to those demands, stressing the need to safeguard academic freedom. Since then, the Trump administration has threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status and attempted to obstruct its ability to enroll foreign students.
Harvard has filed lawsuits to recoup its federal funding and stop the Trump administration’s attempts to ban foreign students as a result.
In the event that Trump’s visa restrictions affect their ability to attend classes, the university also announced an agreement with the University of Toronto on Thursday that would allow foreign students to continue their Harvard studies there.
Trump’s actions have been criticized as attempts to impose his policies on schools in greater compliance with the White House’s policies and priorities.
The administration’s efforts to promote diversity in university hiring and enrollment have been a particularly positive experience.
The Trump administration has claimed that those initiatives are a form of discrimination, but their supporters claim they do so in order to end the legacy of discrimination in higher education.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Trump’s commitment to ending diversity initiatives at a news conference on Thursday, but she did not provide specifics about the UC investigation.
She said, “We want to restore a merit-based society and culture in the United States of America where people are not hired, nor are they promoted, based on the color of their skin or their gender,” as the president’s position states.
Trump signed an executive order removing “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programming from the federal government on the first day of his second term. He described those programs as “immense public waste and shameful discrimination.”
However, some claim that Trump’s actions have violated the rights of those he disagrees with, acting as his own form of discrimination.
For instance, the government has attempted to deport several foreign students who participated in pro-Palestine activities on campus, which raised concerns about free speech.
Source: Aljazeera
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