OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
3:44 PM – Monday, April 1, 2024
After being accused of racism for reportedly preventing Caucasians and White-passing people from visiting a community farm on Saturdays, one of the nation’s most socially liberal and leftist colleges, the University of California, Berkeley, is now stirring up controversy.
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“Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” (BIPOC) are the only individuals allowed to utilize the Gill Tract Community Farm in nearby Albany on Saturdays. This decision was made in response to a complaint lodged by the Mountain States Legal Foundation with the United States Department of Education.
However, some have criticized the action as an instance of “systemic racism.”
Following a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, the university informed the New York Post that it is looking into allegations that the “Gill Tract Community Farm” in neighboring Albany gave its space on Saturday solely to “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.”
“UC Berkeley thinks that racial segregation is progressive now, but it’s no different than segregation of the past,” said William Trachman, the general counsel for the group.
“Preventing Caucasians from accessing Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources Farm on Saturdays is a clear violation of Title VI, which bars educational institutions from engaging in or allowing race discrimination,” added Trachman, a UC-Berkeley alumnus.
He also suggested that the federal government do a thorough investigation into every UC Berkeley department in an effort to identify “systemic racism.”
The farm was established in 2013 as a collaboration between UC Berkeley and the local communities. As part of the “food justice” movement, scholars, and students grow crops for nutritious meals and undertake research on urban farming, according to the farm’s website.
One of the emails from the agricultural program manager included in the complaint states, “Saturdays are exclusively BIPOC. Exceptions have only been made for events that are BIPOC-centered and with plenty of advance notice and planning.”
“I trust you stand in solidarity with upholding boundaries around that safe and sacred space,” the farm manager said.
A representative from UC Berkeley claimed that the university was unaware of the discrimination complaint until the New York Post contacted them and sent them a copy.
“The anonymous texts attached to the complaint have no specific information about time or place. And, as you can see, the Gill Tract’s website and calendar make no mention whatsoever of any program or activity of the sort described in the complaint,” said UC-Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof.
“Having said that, the university takes complaints like this extremely seriously and I can assure you that on Monday I will contact the appropriate people on campus in an effort to determine what the facts are,” he added.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in June of last year that colleges’ racial-conscious or “affirmative action” admissions practices were unconstitutional and must be repealed, which prompted the challenge against UC Berkeley’s claimed segregated farming practice.
Due to accusations that they amount to reverse discrimination, more college programs that promote special opportunities for Black students and other minority groups through “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) and race consciousness have come under judicial investigation as well.
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