President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office banning federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, sparking a border debate on Diversity equity and inclusion policies across government sectors.
Among the seven DEI experts interviewed by CNN, most agreed that diversity involves embracing differences, like race, age and gender, equity relates to treating everyone fairly and offering equal opportunities and inclusion is creating a culture where voices are respected and encouraged.
“DEI means people die,” said Elon Musk, senior adviser to the President of the United States, on X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk used a local news story about Kristin Crowley becoming the Los Angeles Fire Department’s first female chief to prove his point.
Wealthy corporate leaders, including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and activist Robby Starbuck, have criticized diversity programs on social media, prompting some U.S. companies to scale back DEI initiatives, such as racial equity.
The rollbacks on DEI programs are also causing an impact at Washburn University.
“MILS is just making sure that the intersection is a space where students can come and communicate, talk to each other and have different conversations,” said Olivia Brice, assistant director of Student Involvement.
The U.S. Department of Education has already begun to eliminate DEI initiatives in line with Trump’s efforts to end illegal and wasteful government spending. The department dissolved its Diversity and Inclusion Council, and the Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council canceled over 2.5 million in DEI training contracts and withdrew its Equity Action Plan.
Though the decision is making large impacts for other companies and institutions, it is unsure how The Intersection, formerly known as the Multicultural Intersectional Learning Space, will be affected.
“A lot of times students are just down in MILS handing out, doing homework or just using it as a space to come in between classes, hangout and chill,” Brice said.
Over 200 web pages containing DEI resources have been flagged for removal and the Department of Education is scrutinizing public sites and media channels for harmful DEI language.
A federal judge on Feb. 28 largely blocked Trump’s executive orders on DEI. U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore issued a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from terminating or altering federal contracts which are equity related, citing potential constitutional violations and including free speech concerns.
The president’s DEI executive order is still a matter of concern until further notice.
Edited by Jeremy Ford and Stuti Khadka.
