The University of California, Berkeley, is under fire for allegedly banning white residents from using its community farm on Saturdays, a move one critic called “systemic racism.”
The university told the Post that it is investigating allegations that the Gill Tract Community Farm in nearby Albany offered its space on Saturdays exclusively to “Black, Indigenous, and people of color” after the U.S. Department of Education filed a complaint with the U.S. Legal Organization of Mountain States.
“UC-Berkeley believes that today’s segregation is evolving, but it is no different than segregation in the past,” said William Trachman, the group’s general counsel.
“Blocking white people from accessing Berkeley’s Natural Resources Farm on Saturdays is a blatant violation of Title VI, which prohibits educational institutions from engaging in or permitting racial discrimination,” Trachman said, plus, even a UC-Berkeley alumnus.
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He said the federal government should launch a thorough audit of every UC Berkeley program to uncover what he called “systemic racism.”
Launched in 2013, the farm is a partnership between UC-Berkeley and surrounding areas. According to the farm’s website, students and faculty conduct research on urban agriculture and grow plants to prepare healthy meals as part of the “food justice” movement.
The complaint includes an email from an agriculture program manager telling someone Saturdays are BIPOC only. Exceptions are made only for BIPOC-focused events that require a lot of advance notice and planning.
“I hope you unite to respect the boundaries around this safe and sacred space,” the farm manager said. A UC-Berkeley representative said he was unaware of the discrimination complaint until contacted by The Post and provided a copy.
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“The anonymous text accompanying the complaint did not contain any precise information about time or location, and, as you can see, the Gill Tract website and calendar make no mention of any programs or activities of the type described in the complaint,” said UC-Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof.
“That said, the university takes complaints of this nature extremely seriously, and I can assure you that on Monday I will be contacting the appropriate people on campus to confirm,” he said, determining what the truth is.
The challenge to UC-Berkeley’s allegedly segregated agricultural practices comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June that race-conscious admissions policies Racism, or “affirmative action” by universities, is unconstitutional and should be abolished.
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Many race-conscious and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” university programs created to improve opportunities for black students and other minorities have come under legal scrutiny amid complaints that they constitute reverse discrimination.
In the previous week, a federal discrimination lawsuit was filed against a University of Minnesota scholarship named after George Floyd that was only open to black students.
The plaintiff in this case, the Legal Insurgency Equal Defense Project, also filed discrimination complaints against other race-based exclusions or preferences, including SUNY Buffalo’s School of Law and School of Medicine.
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