by Nick Hammond ‘25

On February 14, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education’s (DoE) Office for Civil Rights sent out a letter directing institutions from preschools through colleges to stop using “racial preferences” in admissions and other areas. This came following President Trump’s various executive orders deeming “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) throughout the government illegal. Trump officials declared that all race-based and DEI-following educational programs and policies are discriminatory and illegal, and gave institutions a two-week deadline to comply or face investigations that could lead to loss of federal funding.

For college institutions, this message came abruptly and left them with a deadline that felt impossible to meet. Even at private universities, government funding that supports scholarships could be cut if a school doesn’t comply with DEI guidelines. With the exorbitant cost of college, this has left many students concerned that they would be unable to afford pursuing their education if schools do not comply, censor, or remove their programs to appease the administration. Even solely merit-based scholarships could be cut if a school doesn’t comply in other areas. Some schools even began removing certain majors which focused upon gender or race, limiting career paths.

On February 28, the original deadline for colleges to comply, the DoE clarified its guidelines in a more formal and legally precise manner. Throughout a new letter, it contended that applying DEI doesn’t automatically make a program in violation of civil rights law, that they cannot require schools to restrict First Amendment rights or directly alter school curricula, and culturally-focused programs are permitted so long as all students can participate.

Many administrators found this second letter useful in reducing anxiety and better understanding expectations. However, many educational institutions and students still worry about the effects of the first letter and this initiative overall. A high-profile lawsuit has already alleged that Trump’s orders threaten academic freedom and access to higher education by violating the Constitution, and legal scholars such as Boston University’s Jonathan Feingold claim universities are still rolling “back their legally sound, morally just and mission-critical [DEI] programs.”