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Two faculty members at Central Washington University recently promoted an outdoor camp restricted to black, indigenous, and people of color, reasoning that they haven’t had the same opportunities to experience the outdoors as other races.
A video posted to X by Libs of TikTok features the two faculty members, Assistant Professor Hannah Shamloo and Science Outreach and Education Coordinator Nicolaus Zentner, promoting the “Rock and Role” event.
Professor Zentner is shown saying, “So is this open to everybody? Not really.”
“There’s a growing number of people who are younger and are from much more diverse backgrounds who typically don’t go to those events for a bunch of reasons, so this is a BIPOC community event,” Zentner added.
Professor Shamloo said The Bronze Chapter, the host organization for Rock and Role, aims to “increase participation of BIPOC members in the outdoors.”
Shamloo said this mission is based on the fact that, “historically, members of BIPOC haven’t had the same opportunities for safe engagement with the outdoors.”
“Nic and I are here to really extend a warm welcome and encouragement to members of BIPOC to come join us and engage with the geology that we love so much,” the professor said.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, Harmeet Dhillon, reposted the video on X, stating, “This is illegal, if true. We will investigate!”
CWU spokesperson told The College Fix that the school does not have any direct involvement in the event.
“Central Washington University is not affiliated with the nonprofit organization, the Bronze Chapter, and has no direct involvement, financial or otherwise,” Leder said.
Leder added that the university still supports the “talented faculty members who volunteer their own time and share their knowledge and expertise with communities outside of CWU.”
But one legal expert believes the event may constitute illegal discrimination.
William Jacobson, president of the Equal Protection Project and a Cornell law professor, told The Fix that “promoting a program in a racially discriminatory manner such that it would likely deter other racial groups from applying or participating.” This could violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The EPP is a conservative public-interest group that exposes race- and ethnicity-based discrimination in education.
“It would be important” to know “whether there was actual exclusion,” Jacobson said.
When asked what universities should do to increase minority participation in fields like geology, Jacobson said that “the only obligation a university has is to make sure educational opportunities are equally available to all students without regard to race.”
“Actually excluding racial groups who do apply…is not a defense to a claim that a program was promoted in a racially discriminatory manner,” he said.
Ultimately, when asked what a legally permissible alternative to Rock and Role could look like, Jacobson said, “Drop all promotion based on race.”
The Fix reached out to Professor Shamloo, Professor Zentner, and the United States Department of Justice for more information about the camp and investigation, but none responded.
The camp took place Aug. 21-23 in Ellensburg, Washington, according to the event page.
“Geology and Earth Sciences are the least diverse of all STEM fields. The purpose of this camp retreat is to introduce underrepresented and marginalized people of color to geology and earth science,” the page states.
The Bronze Chapter advertised the camp as “the only POC-led” geology camp in the county.
“We’re partnering with the most engaging voices in the field – including one of the few women of color geology doctorates in the nation – to create a space where expertise and culture collide,” the page states.
