Black Students File Discrimination Complaint Against University of Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
A group of Black students is accusing the University of Michigan of discriminating by recruiting Blacks to the school but failing to provide enough academic or financial support for them to graduate.
The 13 students have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Black graduate students are told they are not Ph.D. material and advised to leave after completing master’s-level requirements, and undergraduates are misled and segregated, say the 13 students who call themselves the Coalition for Action Against Racism and Discrimination.
“Critical issues involving African-Americans are considered to be nuisances,” the students say in the complaint.
University spokeswoman Julie Peterson told the Detroit Free Press that officials had not yet seen the complaint. She declined to comment on the students’ situations, citing privacy laws.
University President Mary Sue Coleman sent three of the students letters on Jan. 17 saying she was working with other officials to resolve their concerns, Peterson said.
Department of Education spokeswoman Samara Yudof said the regional office in Cleveland received the complaint and would evaluate it to determine whether it should be investigated.
The university awarded about 4 percent of doctoral degrees to Black students in 2004-05, according to university statistics. Total Black enrollment this year is about 7.6 percent. About 7.7 percent of graduate students are Black.
— Associated Press
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