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The Student Voice Since 1926
Volume 81 Issue 01
September 10, 2025
Collegedale, Tennessee
Southern's $3 Million Hispanic-Serving Institution Grant Faces Legal Challenge
Dancers at Latin American Club cultural night. Courtesy of Memories (Photo by Angel Guerrero)
"If we support each other, that's the least we can do, but also through prayer, anything can happen." Hayden Kobza Editor-in-Chief
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n the state of Tennessee, Southern Adventist University—the only college within the state to qualify as a Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution (DHSI)—is drawing national attention due to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal program. At stake is a $3 million federal grant the university has been receiving over a fiveyear period since 2023, the largest grant the institution has ever received. To qualify for the funding, a university’s Hispanic enrollment must be at least 25%. At Southern, Hispanic students currently account for 28% of the student body.
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Editoral anager for Marketing and University Relations, Becky Brooks, released a statement to the Accent on behalf of Southern. “Southern Adventist University’s DHSI grant allows the university to strengthen support services, implement institutional changes, and improve learning opportunities for all students,” Brooks stated in an email. “It also allows us to encourage all high school students, with an emphasis on the underserved, to take appropriate high school courses and then choose STEM degrees at higher education institutions of their choice.” Alejandro Robles, a sophomore biology major and Latin American Club president, described Southern qualifying for the grant as “a beautiful thing” for students.
- Alejandro Robles
"If you want an opportunity or a chance, you can get it here at Southern,” Robles said. Even though Southern qual-
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ifies for the rogram due to its Hispanic population, the grant doesn’t only benefit Hispanic students. “If it's for everyone, that just means we need it more,” said Robles. However, the funding may now be in jeopardy. On June 11, the State of Tennessee, along with Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), filed a complaint in federal court, suing the U.S. Department of Education for its DHSI grant program. The U.S. Justice Department, mean-
while, has declined to defend the federal program, calling it unconstitutional.
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ccording to the plaintiffs, The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965—a federal law that governs student financial aid, institutional support and education policy—is using discriminatory practices to allocate funds for colleges and universities that have an ethnic
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threshold of 25% Hispani . “The State of Tennessee operates many colleges and universities,” the complaint states. “Every one of them serves Hispanic students. Every one of them serves low-income students. But not one of them qualifies to receive grants under the DHSI program. Why? Because they don’t have the right mix of e ethnicities on campus.” “There is no valid reason to
make federal funds turn on race or ethnicity,” the complaint states further. “...Funds should help needy students regardless of their immutable traits, and the denial of those funds harms students of all races.” Just over one month after the lawsuit was filed, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Latino Justice and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) filed a motion to intervene as
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a defendant, but the cour has not formally granted the intervention. Critics of the lawsuit argue that DHSI programs do not favor certain racial or ethnic preference when admitting students, but instead, it allocates funds to schools with See Institution on page 2