DEI closures at colleges leave students with 'a different reality'

The student experience is changing at universities after multiple diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and centers have been shut down. 

Schools such as the University of Michigan have shuttered their diversity centers after the Trump administration began targeting institutions and pulling funding, while other universities in places such as Texas, Florida and Kansas had to close programs due to state law.  

The shift is creating a new environment this academic year even as experts say antisemitism and racism are among top concerns for students.   

Campus Reform’s anti-DEI tracker found that as of April, 20 states have passed legislation that bans various diversity initiatives on campuses, ranging from dedicated centers to trainings.  

Most of the states have been Republican strongholds, but other schools including Michigan and Columbia University shuttered some DEI initiatives due to pressure and an executive order from President Trump early in his administration targeting diversity efforts both on and off campuses.

“The students who make America's colleges and universities diverse will be returning to the same conditions but a different reality,” said Shaun Harper, a professor of education, business, and public policy at the University of Southern California, adding, “they will return to campus climates that are still racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, ableist and otherwise discriminatory.” 

“But they're going to be returning to places that no longer have the infrastructure to address those challenges. So, the challenges remain, but there will be fewer resources, fewer policies and fewer people to protect students from those realities,” he added. 

The Trump administration is seeking to ban DEI nationally, but has faced legal setbacks.

Earlier this year, the Education Department sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter threatening to pull funding to schools with what it called “illegal” DEI. It also sent out a letter to K-12 districts demanding they certify there were no DEI programs in classrooms. 

A judge recently ruled against both of those memos, concluding they violated proper administrative procedures for issuing new guidance to schools.

“While the Department is disappointed in the judge’s ruling, judicial action enjoining or setting aside this guidance has not stopped our ability to enforce Title VI protections for students at an unprecedented level. The Department remains committed to its responsibility to uphold students’ anti-discrimination protections under the law,” a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.  

But as the administration loses in court and many small schools do not have big diversity programs, some students might see little change. 

Marjorie Hass, president of the Council of Independent Colleges, said that between the administration's court losses and the lack of diversity programs at many schools to begin with, "in many ways students will find that little has changed."

"Smaller campuses tend not to have specific centers or institutes, they tend to be more likely to have individuals that are there helping each student succeed. So in some cases, I think we don't want to overestimate how much has actually changed. Many campuses are continuing to stay the course,” Hass said.

But in some big universities with substantial programs, changes will be hard not to notice.

Advocates say these initiatives were meant to help students who deal with discrimination on campus or help individuals feel included and welcomed, emphasizing these initiatives were never strictly limited to any one group of people.  

While some multicultural events or centers have designated names such as the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina, their defenders argue they were never made to exclude others.  

These centers and programs provided “welcoming environments for students based on backgrounds identity, while also being open and accessible to other students, creating a sense of belonging for students from underrepresented communities or marginalized communities,” said Paulette Granberry Russell, president and CEO of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.  

“A lot of those centers have been either eliminated or determined as spaces that were open to others, but with a clearly stated expectation that those centers had to be open and welcoming for all,” she added.  

For students who used these resources, options will be limited going forward. 

Some universities may have revamped their programs or names to continue providing at least some of the services they offered before, a tactic the Trump administration has decried and is hoping to root out.  

Students in schools where these programs have been completely eliminated could protest, although stricter protest rules have been put in place on many campuses this year.  

“We also know that students have a long tradition to draw on a protest. I don't know that we have seen campus protests around these issues yet, but I think it will, certainly will bear watching,” said Hass. 

But advocates say it shouldn't be up to students or faculty, calling on university leadership to take charge.

“I don't think it should be students stepping up in this moment. I think it should be our campus leaders and administrators who are stepping up in this moment,” said Kaleb Briscoe, an associate professor of adult and higher education at the University of Oklahoma. 

“It should not be students, it should not be faculty, it should be leaders,” Briscoe said, adding “students will just fall in the cracks of these gaps.”