Justice Department threatens investigation into university professors' BIPOC-only geology camp
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon threatened a Justice Department investigation into reports of a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) outdoors camp hosted by public university professors after it faced backlash on Tuesday.
Dhillon responded to a video shared by the Libs of TikTok X account, which appeared to have been deleted from YouTube and other social media, featuring two Central Washington University (CWU) faculty members promoting an upcoming geology retreat that appears to be catering exclusively to a race-restricted minority.
"So is this open to everybody? Not really," CWU senior lecturer Nick Zentner said in the video shared on X, which was edited as evidenced by the abrupt cut-off after he said "not really." "But 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."
CWU assistant professor of geology Hannah Shamloo also promoted the organization hosting the event, the Bronze Chapter, and celebrated its efforts "to increase the participation of BIPOC members in the outdoors."
"Historically, members of BIPOC haven’t had the same opportunities for safe engagement with the outdoors, and so Nick 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," Shamloo said.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, Central Washington University denied any affiliation with the camp or retreat, though it expressed support for the faculty members involved.
Shamloo and Zentner didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
"Central Washington University is not affiliated with the nonprofit organization, the Bronze Chapter, and has no direct involvement, financial or otherwise, in the August 21 event that the organization is hosting. However, CWU supports our talented faculty members who volunteer their own time and share their knowledge and expertise with communities outside of CWU," the statement read.
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Fox News Digital also reached out to the Bronze Chapter and the Justice Department for comment.
The geology event, called Rock and Role, is scheduled to take place between Aug. 21-23. Though the Bronze Chapter's website does not explicitly restrict people based on race, the event is described as a "POC-centering geology sleepover summer camp" and also provides a BIPOC and Mixed-Race Individual and Family Sponsorship for families of up to ten people.