Arizona State University: Racial Restrictions on Class Enrollment (2005)

Case Materials

• "Arizona State Disavows Racial Segregation in English Classes," FIRE Press Release, October 10, 2005: In response to pressure from FIRE, Arizona State University has declared that two English classes listed on its website as “for Native Americans only” are open to all students. While the university insists that this reflects a “long-standing practice” of enrolling students in the classes regardless of race, FIRE has uncovered evidence showing the classes were racially segregated for at least eight years.
• "Letter from Arizona State University Provost Milton D. Glick to FIRE, September 29, 2005," October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State University English Education Native Images Webpage," October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State University - Labriola Center Newsletter, Summer 1997," October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State University - 2001 Webpage Listing Segregated English 101, 102 Class," October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State University - 2002 Webpage Listing Segregated English 101, 102 Class," October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State University - 2003 Webpage Listing Segregated English 101, 102 Class," October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State University - 2004 Webpage Listing Segregated English 101, 102 Class," October 6, 2005
• "Racial Segregation Lives On at Arizona State University," FIRE Press Release, October 5, 2005: State-sponsored racial segregation has found a home at Arizona State University (ASU).  ASU’s ironically named “Rainbow Sections” of English 101 and 102 have been advertised on flyers and on the university’s website as being open to “Native Americans only.” Shockingly, this marks the second time in less than four years that FIRE has been forced to protest a racially segregated course at ASU.
• "Arizona State University Professor G. Lynn Nelson Faculty Webpage," October 5, 2005
• "Arizona State University Flyer Advertising Rainbow Sections of English Classes," October 5, 2005
• "FIRE Letter to Arizona State University President Michael Crow, September 23, 2005," September 23, 2005

Blog Entries

• "Arizona State Claims Segregation Never Happened—But Evidence Says Differently," Robert Shibley, October 6, 2005
• "Arizona State: ‘A New American University’?," Charles Mitchell, October 5, 2005

Media Coverage

• "A Herd of Academic Minds," Edwin J. Feulner, The Heritage Foundation, November 1, 2005: Sadly, even if this particular example has been fixed, it's symptomatic of a larger problem. When it comes to political philosophy, the modern American academy presents a grim front of uniformity -- an almost religious orthodoxy. That ought to trouble thoughtful people on both the right and the left.
• "Arizona Segregation," Mark Goldblatt, National Review, October 25, 2005: A mini-scandal erupted earlier this month when the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) discovered that Arizona State University Professor G. Lynn Nelson was restricting enrollment in his Freshman Comp classes to American Indians. After FIRE alerted the school's administration to the restriction, which appeared on Nelson's faculty homepage, Nelson was immediately forced to remove it — though he found it a "mystery" why the controversy had arisen since he'd spent a decade discouraging non-Indians from registering.
• "Arizona State Ends Class Limited to Native Americans," Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, October 7, 2005: Greg Lukianoff, director of legal and public advocacy for FIRE, said that he did not doubt the good intentions of Professor Nelson. “I’m sure that his heart is in the right place, but racial segregation is unconstitutional for a reason,” he said.
• "Charge of Bias Erupts Over a Course at Arizona State," Jacob Gershman, The New York Sun, October 7, 2005: "I can't think of any possible way that they would be allowed to do this by law," the director of legal and public advocacy for FIRE, Greg Lukianoff, said. "We got rid of racial segregation for a reason."
• "Race requirement for class dropped," Amanda Gonser, ASU Web Devil, October 7, 2005: Although offering segregated classes is against federal law, until recently ASU enrolled students in an English class based on race.
• "FIRE Denounces Arizona State's Reintroduction of Segregated Classes," Jim Brown, Agape Press, October 7, 2005: For the second time in less than four years, Arizona State University is limiting certain classes to “Native American” students only. However, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is accusing the university of racial segregation and has written a letter to the school, demanding that the classes be opened to all students.
• "ASU denies classes restricted," Associated Press, Mohave Daily News, October 5, 2005: Glick said the Tempe-based university became aware of the site and the flier after receiving a Sept. 23 letter from FIRE. He said the ''Native Americans only'' disclaimer was removed from Nelson's Web site by Sept. 26.