Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, Plaintiffs, Reach Settlement in Lawsuit

The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and Virginia Commonwealth University have settled a lawsuit with Emily Smith, a high school student, and her parents, over her admission to a summer journalism program sponsored by the Fund and held at VCU. Emily had originally been admitted to the program, admission which was withdrawn, the Smiths allege, because Emily was white. In the settlement just reached, in which anyone admits any fault, the Fund agrees to continue sponsoring the programs, which take place around the country at a number of universities. The Fund agrees that race will not be a factor. "The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund will not sponsor or promote Workshops that do not use race-neutral criteria for the selection of participants." (from the settlement). "The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund will not refer to the Workshops it sponsors as "Summer Minority Workshops" or "High School Journalism Workshops for Minorities". (from the settlement). Read more about the lawsuit and the settlement here in a Chicago Sun-Times article. Read the settlement agreement here.