More than 50 student organizations have signed onto a petition demanding the University of Miami protect diversity, equity and inclusion programs amid changes brought about by the Trump Administration.
Several organizations have directly emailed top University officials including President Joe Echevarria, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Alison Mincey, interim Provost Willy Prado and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Alumni Engagement Patricia Whitely.
Others have posted personal organization statements on Instagram, drawing students to a Change.org petition. The petition demands the administration publicly acknowledge the removal of DEI resources, physically reinstate DEI resources on campus if they cannot be made available online and engage with students and faculty in an open forum.
The unusual collaboration among student organizations, from cultural, to academic, to athletic, is a result of an executive order passed by President Donald Trump requiring all federally funded education institutions to eliminate any race or gender-based programs.
“Institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or “diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility” (DEIA),” Trump wrote in the order.
The order also instructed federal agencies to identify up to nine organizations for a possible civil rights compliance investigation, this includes schools with endowments of more than $1 billion. This is part of a “strategic enforcement plan” implemented by the Trump Administration to identify and go after diversity programs.
UM is one of 131 institutions that could be subject to investigation, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Following the announcement, all websites related to DEI programs or resources at UM were taken down, showing nothing more than a “Web Site Under Construction” alert.
In a statement to the student body Monday afternoon, top University officials emphasized their support for all students without clarity on how diversity services and programs would continue in the wake of a potential investigation.
“External circumstances may shift, but our focus has long been on delivering results and having a positive impact on each other and on those around us,” the statement said.
It fell far short of what student leaders had expected to hear.
“The University’s message leaves important questions unanswered, particularly regarding the reorientation of DEI resources and the specific rationale behind this shift,” several student organizations associated with the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences announced in a public statement.
The letter assured the “reorientation” of websites was part of a response to adjust the University’s diversity framework that had already been years in the making. In 2018, UM began the process of looping its DEI initiatives under the umbrella name “culture of belonging.” University leaders previously had communicated at a student roundtable that they thought this name change would shield them from investigation threats.
At the opening ceremony of Black Awareness Month on Monday, Feb. 3, Whitely addressed the audience reassuring that all diversity services are maintaining administrative support. These services seemingly include the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, LGBTQ+ Student Center and Office of Disability Services, among others.
“We are going to continue to support you, and all of our services. We are obviously monitoring the direction of the federal government, but it is our top priority – and I want everyone to know this – to maintain our services, our programs and our facilities that help celebrate all students,” she said.
Several other higher-education institutions have also preemptively begun backing away from DEI wording. Northeastern University similarly removed DEI websites, prompting concern from students.
Academic institutions are hoping to be spared an investigation and potential loss of federal funding if found in the wrong, though the exact consequences of non-compliance are not yet clear.
For student leaders at UM, the biggest offense has been the lack of transparency throughout the process.
“While we acknowledge and support the proactive protection of federal and state funding for research efforts, we cannot ignore the hardships that underrepresented communities are experiencing right now and how removing these resources without transparency is harmful, no matter the intent,” the organizations’ statement said.
Krystina Slanker is one of many students that has benefited from cultural student organizations on campus. Slanker has Asian roots but was adopted from Russia into a Jewish family and raised in South Florida. UM gave her the opportunity to explore the multilayer parts of herself and connect more with the Asian community through the Asian American Students Association.
“No matter what, you need resources, you need a community, everybody needs a support system, and this is what I firmly believe in,” she said.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, the petition has nearly 700 signatures.