Harvard University is reportedly running an internship program that is only available to non-white applicants, according to a report in the Free Beacon. The Free Beacon found that McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School’s psychiatric teaching hospital, has hosted a paid research program specifically for “Black, Indigenous, and underrepresented people of color.”
This Prestigious Harvard Fellowship Bans White Applicants (freebeacon.com)
The 10-week internship, which began in 2021, provides a $7,000 stipend and places participants in prestigious labs. Harvard, along with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, is currently involved in a high-profile Supreme Court case after being sued by Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group opposing affirmative action.
Student Opportunities at McLean Hospital
And yet, both UNC and Harvard continue to promote programs discriminating against whites. According to the Free Beacon, UNC-Chapel Hill has at least five scholarships, fellowships, and similar initiatives that are only available to minority students. Another initiative for “BIPOC” students was recently made available to everyone following a discrimination complaint.
Constitutional lawyers argue that such programs violate civil rights law. Ilya Shapiro, the director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, told the Free Beacon that such programs are “clear-cut legal violations.” What’s more, Shapiro added, continuing to offer them while the Supreme Court is scrutinizing racial preferences in admissions is “not a good look.”
Dan Morenoff, the executive director of the American Civil Rights Project, told the Free Beacon that McLean’s internship program is a likely violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and Title VI, which bans race discrimination by federally funded institutions.
HMS Affiliates | Harvard Medical School
While Harvard’s website states that it does not “own or operate” its teaching hospitals, according to the Free Beacon, it appears Harvard is operating the McLean internship program. Both the internship’s director and its principal investigator hold posts at Harvard Medical school.
Likewise, McLean’s website directs applicants with questions to a Harvard.edu email address. Jonathan Berry, a partner at Boyden Gray & Associates, told the Free Beacon that “at a minimum,” Harvard appears to be facilitating McLean’s “race-based system,” increasing the possibility that Harvard would also be liable in the event of a lawsuit.
