Diversity , Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been a polarizing acronym in recent politics. The term gained widespread popularity in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, and since then has been a main focus of political discourse.
Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has made it a mission to end “Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” On Jan. 20, he signed an executive order to “terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” offices and positions, and since then has run investigations on multiple universities to dismantle their DEI programs. The U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated that the target of these investigations is “to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes.”
In February, Trump and his appointees in the Department of Education began investigations on both public and private institutions with the target of assessing their “race-exclusionary practices.” In particular, private institutions like Duke University in Durham, N.C., and public institutions such as University of Michigan-Ann Arbor have been primarily investigated for race-exclusionary practices at their graduate schools. These investigations have garnered the attention of students and teachers across the nation.
In fact, investigations on universities’ DEI programs distract students from the main issues that pertain to this country. Andes Finch ’26, spoke about his opinion on the recent news. When asked about bigger problems that are being overshadowed by these investigations, he spoke about grocery prices. “Grocery prices have risen, egg prices have not gone down,” Finch stated.
DEI within both high school and higher education is integral in building empathic and knowledgeable citizens. The goal of DEI practices is to break down Eurocentric teachings of history and inform people how different factors of one identity can affect their opportunities. Without these programs, many minorities are quickly pushed aside. Schools around the world need to be able to accept a diverse body and students from different backgrounds and socioeconomic status. By trying to end “wokeness” and “biased DEI practices,” Trump is hurting the progress this country has made. Without DEI programs in education, students without the necessary resources will be left behind in the dust, and those with more privilege will pull ahead unwittingly.
