UC San Diego sued over racially exclusive scholarships
July 17, 2025
Lawsuit challenges university-backed scholarship program that excludes students based on race
San Diego; July 15, 2025: Several California students, represented by Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the University of California, San Diego’s partnership with the Black Alumni Scholarship Fund (BASF). The program restricts eligibility based solely on race, denying up to $10,000 scholarships and valuable mentoring opportunities to qualified students who are not black.
“Government actors cannot do indirectly what the Constitution forbids them to do directly,” said Haley Dutch, PLF attorney on the case. “UC San Diego’s entanglement with a private entity to enforce racial exclusions is an end-run around both the U.S. Constitution and California’s Proposition 209.”
The plaintiffs in the case are Kai Peters, a transfer student and UCSD junior who was automatically excluded from applying despite meeting all academic criteria, and the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER), a nonprofit committed to defending equal protection. Several CFER student members face the same exclusion, including one student who never received an application because she chose not to disclose her race on her admissions form, despite meeting all other qualifications for the award.
UC San Diego established the BASF in 1983 as a race-based scholarship for black students. After voters approved Proposition 209 in 1996, banning racial preferences in public education, the university transitioned the program to a private nonprofit organization, while maintaining close ties. UCSD provides BASF with the names of admitted students who identify as black, promotes the fund on its website, and has staff on BASF’s board. Only black students receive applications, and BASF boasts that “100% of BASF Scholars identify as Black/African American.”
“Our clients don’t seek special treatment — just equal treatment,” added Jack Brown, PLF attorney. “Scholarships tied to race deprive students of financial help, mentoring, and networking that should be open to everyone.”
The case is California for Equal Rights v. UC San Diego, et al.
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About Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation is a national nonprofit law firm that defends Americans threatened by government overreach and abuse. Since our founding in 1973, we challenge the government when it violates individual liberty and constitutional rights. With active cases in 34 states plus Washington, D.C., PLF represents clients in state and federal courts, with 18 wins of 20 cases litigated at the U.S. Supreme Court.