San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Princeton admits past racism, faces federal inquiry
The Trump administration has opened an investigation into racial bias at Princeton University, saying the school’s recent acknowledgment of racism on campus amounts to a “shocking” and “serious” admission of discrimination.
In a letter to the university last week, the U.S. Education Department said the school’s admission of racism conflicts with previous assurances that Princeton complies with federal antidiscrimination laws. It said that, in an open letter issued Sept. 2, the university’s president “admitted Princeton’s educational program is and for decades has been racist.”
The investigation is the Trump administration’s latest salvo against schools and colleges that seek to address racism. Speaking in Washington on Thursday, President Trump said U.S. schools and universities unfairly teach that America is a racist nation, an idea that he dismissed as “toxic propaganda.”
Trump blasted Princeton on
Twitter in June over its decision to remove former President Woodrow Wilson’s name from the public policy school because of his segregationist views.
Princeton said it will respond to the department and looks forward to showing that its actions have been consistent with federal law, and “also with the highest ideals and aspirations of this country.”
“It is unfortunate that the Department appears to believe that grappling honestly with the nation’s history and the current effects of systemic racism runs afoul of existing law,” the university said in a statement.
The department cited several passages in university President Christopher Eisgruber’s letter detailing efforts to combat systematic racism. It raised concerns over his acknowledgment that racism persists at Princeton “as in our society,” and his acknowledgment that racist assumptions from the past “remain embedded in structures” of the university.
Eisgruber’s message was issued in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans whose killings by police sparked nationwide protests this summer.
The letter announced new efforts to expand the diversity of Princeton’s faculty and to explore an educational program for students who come from communities that are disproportionately affected by racism.
The Trump administration has increasingly sought to intervene with elite universities and their policies around race.
The Justice Department announced in August that a twoyear investigation at Yale University revealed illegal discrimination against Asian
American and white applicants. The department is supporting a lawsuit making similar claims of bias at Harvard University.
During a speech at the National Archives on Thursday, Trump decried efforts to teach about systemic racism at schools and universities. He described such efforts as “leftwing indoctrination,” and he announced plans to establish a commission to promote “patriotic education” in schools.
Trump has separately ordered an end to antiracism training sessions in federal agencies, prompting some federally funded university research labs to suspend diversity programs.
The American Council on Education, an association of university presidents, said the Princeton investigation is a politically motivated effort to rally Trump’s base during election season. But it also appears to be intended to discourage other universities from confronting racism, said Terry Hartle, the group’s senior vice president.
“We should applaud and welcome those efforts, not attempt to strangle them,” he said. “Princeton has adequate resources to fight the federal government. Most universities do not.”
Collin Binkley is an Associated Press writer.