Lewis & Clark College: FIRERequired to Participate in Racially Segregated Student Orientation Event
Cases
Lewis & Clark College
Case Overview
In August 2020, Lewis & Clark College required incoming students to attend an event called 鈥淓ngage for Racial Justice鈥 as part of the college鈥檚 New Student Orientation. FIREhad to provide their race鈥攅ither 鈥淏lack,鈥 鈥淚POC (Indigenous, Person of Color),鈥 or 鈥淲hite鈥濃攕o the college could segregate students into 鈥渁ffinity groups.鈥 FIREwrote to Lewis & Clark on October 6 to make clear that requiring students to identify themselves by race or ethnicity and then using those classifications to deliver separate educational resources and experiences clearly violates the principles of legal equality and students鈥 individual rights. On October 14, Lewis & Clark responded, arguing that its segregation was not 鈥渋nvidious鈥 but that the college would in the future be 鈥渃learer鈥 that the event is 鈥渙ptional鈥 if it were repeated.