In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that schools cannot use race as a factor in choosing which students to accept. The Education Department took this ruling one step further, saying universities cannot consider race in admissions, scholarships, housing or “all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
After this announcement, Northwestern University President Michael Schill sent out a letter to the school community. This letter attempted to address the uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s new policies affecting universities nationwide. Many students feel that Schill’s attempt fell short. Medill sophomore Jorge Martinez is one of them.
JORGE MARTINEZ: I wish in these times of crisis, our leaders like Michael Schill and other university administrators really stand up and say “we’re going to support our students,” you know, because it doesn’t just impact students, it impacts research funding, for example. I really hope that university administrators and presidents like Schill really are able to grow a backbone and stand up for students who need it the most.
Part of Schill’s letter includes the following quote: “We currently are analyzing the Executive Order and Office of Civil Rights’ letter and their potential impacts on the University. As we do that review, we bear in mind that our choices could have major impacts on the University community. In the days and weeks ahead, Northwestern leaders will work with members of our community to assess and, in some cases, implement changes.”
Since this February 19th email, the University has adopted several changes. Nearly all undergraduate and graduate schools have removed their DEI webpages. Northwestern Career Advancement got rid of almost all identity-based resources. And NU’s Office of Civil RIghts took down its pages on affirmative action and diversity recruitment.
While the future of DEI and race-related programs at Northwestern are unknown, students are making efforts to continue them- with or without federal funds.
SAM HERNANDEZ: I think that we know what we do is important, and we know that no matter what, we’re going to keep making theatre with our friends, our artists of color because it’s an important outlet. If that means they cut our funding, then we’ll do it in a park, we’ll do it in our houses, we’ll do it wherever we need to do it to create this community and feel safe. So while, obviously it’s tragic and really frustrating that this is happening, at the same time, it will not curtail us in any way.
That was Sam Hernandez, founding member of Vibrant Colors Collective. VC squared is a Northwestern theatre organization that strives to approach and produce theatre through a multicultural lens.
Medill sophomore Dallas Thurman echoes Hernandez’s sentiment.
DALLAS THURMAN: So many people are out of jobs, so many people are losing these safe spaces that they hold dear to their hearts and sometimes it feels that they’re being removed without any remorse or any empathy for those communities. But I do think even if they are gone, I definitely think students will play a big role in shaping Northwestern culture still and even if the groups aren’t official they’ll definitely be on the low or something. I think students will find a way to navigate this because I think students have already started doing that.
For Martinez, affinity groups are incredibly important. He says they have made his time at Northwestern special.
MARTINEZ: I think all affinity-based organizations and clubs are really important because as underrepresented students, especially at a predominantly white institution like Northwestern, we need safe spaces. We need a place to find people who look like us, who come from similar backgrounds as us. And it’s a really scary place to be at when you don’t have those kinds of support systems.
Martinez is also a founding member of Alpha Psi Lambda, a co-ed Latinx fraternity. He stressed the importance of the Multicultural Greek Council on the Northwestern community.
MARTINEZ: I know as a queer Latino student, I was just met with overwhelming support in the clubs that were offered at Northwestern, particularly fraternities and sororities. I can give the example of APsi, we’re based on our founding principle of familia, which means family in Spanish, and that really bonds us together to not just look out for each other, respect each other, love one another, but also to really extend that compassion to our community, to give back to not just the MGC community but the greater Northwestern community.
For some Northwestern students, these recent changes inspire action. Thurman spoke about being an advocate for her community through her career as a journalist.
THURMAN: I think we need to dig deep, especially as students- this is our time to not only learn but get practice. Definitely as Black journalists too- It’s not our job to be like the spokesperson of the Black community, but it’s definitely like, who else is gonna do it really?
While the future of student groups may be up in the air, it’s not only these orgs and their physical spaces that may be impacted by these executive orders. Scholarships, grants and research funding are also at risk.
The uncertainty of the future is stressful, to say the least.
MARTIINEZ: It feels like there’s no real, clear guidance on how to proceed or even how dismantling DEI would really be put into a policy. And many of those Executive Orders are being challenged in court and so we have to wait to see how all those legal battles unfold. And it’s just DEI, no one really understands what it is. But we feel the effects of it, right? We feel the effects when our elected leaders suddenly start pointing fingers, and at the end of those fingers are students who look like me. Students who work really hard to get where we are, who work, I would say twice as hard, to get half as far as our wealthy affluent white counterparts. I’m not a talking point, I’m a person, and recently I just been feeling really exhausted.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked parts of Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders. The judge said universities may self-censor to comply with Trump’s demands. The ruling does not mention the Education Department’s February 14th letter.
For WNUR News, I’m Ash Aranha. And I’m Jessica Watts.
