The Trump administration is investigating a pair of federally funded universities accused of violating civil rights laws over their race-specific student-housing communities.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst, which received over $322 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2024, is home to five of what it calls “Defined Residential Communities” — “communities in residence halls where students can live with hall mates who share similar interests, backgrounds, and identifies.”
‘Re-create Jim Crow in the name of bizarro social justice.’
They are as follows: the Asian/Asian-American DRC; the disability DRC; the so-called “Latinx” DRC for Hispanics; the “Harambee” DRC for blacks; and the “Spectrum” DRC for non-straights.
The University of Nevada, Reno — whose active federal awards as of summer 2025 totaled over $520 million — has a similar offering called “Living Learning Communities,” which are advertised as a way for students to “develop personal relationships with peers of similar academic, social, and cultural interests.”
The University of Nevada, Reno, has the following identity-based LLCs: Asian Pacific Islander; black; LGBT; “Indigenous”; and “Latinx.” They are apparently housed on LLC-specific floors.
Dean Kennedy, the University of Nevada, Reno’s executive director of residential life, housing, and food services, said in 2023 that “for the safety of student participants, it is important only students who hold that identity are considered.” While the university claimed Kennedy misspoke, the identity-based LLCs are still in place.
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The Equal Protection Project, the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s racism watchdog, filed civil rights complaints against both schools with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in July.
The complaints allege that the two university housing programs “use race- and ethnicity-based descriptions and promotional materials to steer students based on race, color, and national origin, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.”
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination “against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.”
Under the act, it is also unlawful “to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.”
The EPP argued that under applicable HUD regulations enforcing the FHA, “this kind of ‘steering’ toward or away from housing based on race is strictly prohibited. Steering liability attaches even if the housing program does not physically bar members of other racial or ethnic groups from participating.”
The EPP claimed further that these programs violate both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, previously told the Washington Examiner that promoting “racial separation” in housing constitutes a “clear legal and constitutional violation.”
“It’s one thing to provide opportunities for cultural expression; quite another to re-create Jim Crow in the name of bizarro social justice,” said Shapiro.
HUD’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity notified EPP in a pair of letters on July 29 that its complaints against the two universities had been officially filed and would be investigated under Title VI.
The HUD office noted in the letters published by Legal Insurrection on Tuesday that it is required by law to complete the investigation within 100 days — meaning the deadline is Nov. 6 — or to provide by that date an explanation for why the probe has not yet been completed.
The University of Nevada, Reno, said in a statement to Blaze News, “The University has been informed that a complaint concerning certain Living Learning Communities has been filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The University’s Living Learning Communities are open to all students who choose to participate and are not exclusive housing environments.”
“Programs and activities associated with these communities are designed to support student success, foster community, and enrich the residential experience for all students,” continued the statement. “The University remains committed to complying with applicable federal civil rights and fair housing laws and will cooperate with any official inquiry.”
The University of Massachusetts Amherst did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment by deadline.
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