How Trump’s DEI Crackdown Will Shake Up University Graduation Ceremonies

As the federal government seeks to root out diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from higher education, some American universities are eschewing the long-time practice of hosting affinity group graduation celebrations. The end-of-year parties are designed to offer certain students the opportunity to celebrate the completion of their studies with those who belong to their same minority group. Some groups will invite faculty members or even bring in outside speakers. While the events are typically divided by racial minorities, some schools organize commencement ceremonies for students who are first-generation, disabled, or identify as LGBTQ. Critics contend that these celebrations promote segregation and division. Others argue that they simply violate federal civil rights law. The conversation came to a head in February when the Trump administration issued a “Dear Colleague” letter that sought to “clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations” of universities that receive financial support from the government. The letter used the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against affirmative action in admissions to argue that the legal precedent also applies to other aspects of an institution’s operations. “At its core, the test is simple: If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law,” wrote the department’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Craig Trainor. Under that standard, Mr. Trainor proclaims that the law prohibits race-based decisions in “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” He goes as far as to call segregated graduation ceremonies a “shameful echo of a darker period in this country’s history.” The government is currently barred from enforcing the letter due to federal judge rulings in Maryland and New Hampshire. Still, though, the effort alone appears to have spoken several universities into reconsidering their policies. The most recent being Harvard University, whose former office of diversity and inclusion — which is now operating under a new doctrine and a new name — broke the news last week in an email sent to student affinity groups. The newly-minted office of “Community and Campus Life” informed the groups that they would no longer receive “funding, staffing, or spaces for affinity celebrations,” the Harvard Crimson reported. The office offered to schedule one-on-one conversations with students who had been involved in planning the affinity group events and added that “We stand ready to address questions or concerns you may have during this transition.” The office, however, did not specify whether events not based on racial categories would still take place. The new policy marks a significant shift for the school which in 2024 hosted and funded ten affinity group celebrations, including those for Arab, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, first-generation, low-income, and Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Desi graduates. The decision was met with disapproval by some students who felt betrayed by the school’s “willingness to capitulate” to the government. A day after the announcement, some 80 students and faculty gathered on the school’s Science Center Plaza in protest. For many universities, the decision to cancel affinity group celebrations stemmed from recently passed state-level anti-DEI legislation. Such was the case for the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, both of which stated that state law had prompted the policy change. Universities in Utah have largely done away with affinity celebrations for the same reason. Same goes for the University of Texas at Austin. At least 17 states have passed bills targeting DEI programs and policies. Other schools have sought to skirt local or federal backlash by strategically rebranding their graduation parties. Four of Florida’s major public universities, for example, have dropped the word “graduation” from their affinity events, opting to publicize them as “galas” or “celebrations.”

How Trump’s DEI Crackdown Will Shake Up University Graduation Ceremonies

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