Excluding Inclusivity: On-Campus Outrage Over DEI
By Teagan Wall, with contributions from Anika Yip, Samantha Wong, Alexa Cole, Megan Petroni & Holland Hatch
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onald Trump’s recent crackdown on diversity initiatives begs new questions on campus — just who does Chapman University represent, and what will it stand to defend? Too many students and faculty are highly skeptical why Chapman isn’t standing up for them. More than skeptical. Outraged. Their university has abandoned the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Yet, according to Chapman administrators, this is simply compliance with federal directives, necessitated by the threat of funding cuts. A coalition of more than 30 student-run clubs organized two on-campus protests, vocalizing their demands: the protection of undocumented students on campus and the preservation of DEI, including the Cross Cultural Center. “Who keeps us safe?” student protesters chanted at an on-campus rally in April. “We keep us safe!” One thing is clear: the university’s lack of transparency about administrative shifts and institutional goals has fundamentally
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ruptured trust. Their swift compliance with federal directives has only heightened concerns. “DEI gives a voice to those whose voices have been stripped away by years of discrimination, prejudice, and bias,” said Sukhman Sahota, a senior previously involved with the department and related initiatives. Sahota continues: “Those who are choosing to eliminate DEI are choosing to silence minority and diverse voices once again.” Tensions have been steadily growing for months. In March, beloved vice president of DEI, Reginald ‘Reg’ Chhen Stewart, was quietly placed on leave. By April, he was gone. Alongside Stewart, his boss — former executive vice provost Norma Bouchard — was also placed on leave, before quietly departing from the university. More than three hundred members of the Chapman community first gathered on Memorial Lawn in mid-March to protest the death of DEI. Amidst the sea of protesters, declarations emerged above the crowd: