By: Kayla Pasacreta

According to a report by the New York Times, the next major project the Justice Department is looking into is affirmative action. According to a government official, the Department plans to sue any universities they believe discriminate against white applicants.

According to the Department of Justice, "The project will be based out of the department’s civil rights division." The Department is in the process of looking for lawyers to investigate "race-based discrimination in college." The investigation, however, will focus on discrimination to white students.

Vanita Gupta, who served as the head of the Civil Rights Department under President Obama, reacted to the announcement with the words: "Yet again, the Sessions Justice Department, led by the political leadership and marginalizing the career employees, is changing course on a key civil rights issue."

Affirmative action has long been a controversial topic that many people do not fully understand. Affirmative action was first employed by John F. Kennedy in 1961  to help try to reverse the many years of of discrimination in employment and education sectors to disadvantaged groups: women (yes, white women too) and minorities. However, people typically associate affirmative action with black people. Many critics of President Obama insisted he wouldn't have gotten into Harvard without affirmative action. This view that black people get into schools solely for being black is widely damning and inaccurate.

This move from the Jeff Sessions-led Department of Justice isn't at all surprising. We will be closely watching the next steps taken.