Trump administration guts 40-year-old college access program

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Trump administration has abruptly shuttered a 40-year-old college access program at UC Berkeley — one that has helped thousands of first-generation, low-income students from the East Bay to attend college — over equity and inclusion staff training.

Trump officials canceled the $836,000 annual grant for Cal’s Educational Talent Search at a time when many of the program’s students are applying for college. The program — which has been federally funded since 1997 — served around 1,500 students annually across East Bay middle and high schools by connecting them with college advisers and higher education. It was in the last year of a five-year grant cycle.

Program director Keyanna Hatcher was on her honeymoon when she received the email from the Department of Education alerting her that the university’s grant would be discontinued, effective almost immediately. The letter from the Education Department said the UC Berkeley program conflicts with the Trump administration’s priorities, citing a mention of management equity and inclusion training.

“I was in complete shock,” Hatcher said. “I never would’ve thought in a million years that we would get a non-continuation notification because we’ve worked very hard to ensure that our talent search program is compliant. … I’m still shocked. I think about it every day.”

The cut comes amid the Trump administration’s rejection of higher education programs designed to make it easier for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to access college opportunities. In September, the Department of Education announced it was ending $350 million in funding for several minority-serving grant programs and...