UVA program changes its description on website after getting hit with civil rights complaint

A University of Virginia mentorship program has changed its description on the school's official website after it received a civil rights complaint for excluding white students.

The Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against UVA on October 1. The EPP alleged that UVA, a recipient of federal funding, is violating existing law by "creating, sponsoring and promoting a racially discriminatory program called the BIPOC Alumni-Student Mentoring Program."

They argue it violates the law because it "conditions eligibility for participation on a student’s race, ethnicity and skin color." Given that UVA is a public university, the program's "creation, sponsorship, promotion and hosting of this discriminatory program also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the group alleges in the complaint.

BIPOC refers to "black, indigenous, (and) people of color."

A Fox News Digital report noted on Wednesday that BIPOC Alumni-Student Mentoring Program webpage said the program was seeking "up to 25 BIPOC undergraduates" as of October 2, the day after the complaint was filed, according to the Internet Archives Wayback Machine. 

The website said the program was "made possible by the generosity of the UVA Parents Program and is overseen by EHD's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI)."

Currently, the website describes the program as "created with BIPOC students in mind" and that it's seeking "up to 25 undergraduates."