The Miscellany News

On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Office of Civil Rights released a letter clarifying the Trump administration’s position on schools’ obligations to adhere to nondiscrimination laws if they wish to receive federal funding. Known as the “Dear Colleague” Letter (DCL), the memo singled out Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives as racially discriminatory for “smuggling” racial stereotypes and discrimination into everyday curricula. Although a footnote clarified that the DCL does not have the force of law, it “advised” educational institutions—from preschool to postsecondary—to ensure their policies complied with the government’s interpretation of federal law no later than Feb. 28, two weeks after the memo’s release.

In an email to the student body on Feb. 27, President Elizabeth Bradley addressed the DCL, writing, “Vassar has always taken seriously its obligation to abide by federal and state anti-discrimination laws and will continue to do so.” She cited the College’s mission statement from its Governance, which explicitly states that Vassar views DEI as an essential part of its college environment; she said clearly, “We should be proud of this mission to make this education accessible to all, and we remain committed to our values and our work together.” Bradley’s email came one day before the DCL’s deadline but made no mention of any changes to College policy in accordance with the letter. Bradley told The Miscellany News by email, “Our efforts in diversity, inclusion, and equity—as described in our mission—are meant to keep educational opportunities open to everyone, so we do not expect to change them.”

Vassar’s Engaged Pluralism program operates similarly to a DEI office. According to the program’s website, “Engaged Pluralism is a Vassar program dedicated to bringing faculty, students, and administrators together to raise questions around inclusion and belonging.” Administrators, however, say the DCL will not affect the program’s function or purpose. Director of Engaged Pluralism and Associate Professor of Education Kimberly Williams Brown wrote in an email to The Miscellany News, “I want to underscore that there are no immediate risks to affinity spaces or Engaged Pluralism.” Echoing Bradley, Brown added, “Of course as a college, we do not engage in illegal discrimination because we highly value diversity, equity, and inclusion, in compliance with all state and federal laws.” 

Some students expressed dissatisfaction with the College’s response to the Trump administration’s recent changes in higher education. Rosie Elebyjian ’27 told The Miscellany News by email, “I don’t think Vassar is doing enough. The hollow, platitude-ridden emails we constantly receive amount to nothing, especially when the administrators and the Board of Trustees have continuously disappointed marginalized students.”

According to Bradley, Vassar receives around $12 million in federal funding annually, including Pell Grants, Work Study, federal loans and research grants. If the Trump administration determines that the College is violating federal law, this money could be revoked. On March 7, the government revoked $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University for violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by failing to adequately respond to harassment of Jewish students. The civil rights group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression asserted that the government’s demands on Columbia will suppress campus speech. Days later, the DOE announced investigations into 60 U.S. colleges for Title VI violations due to failure to protect Jewish students. Included are Vassar peer institutions Middlebury, Sarah Lawrence, Swarthmore and Wellesley Colleges. Vassar is not included.

Although the DCL makes no explicit mention of affinity spaces being unconstitutional, its assertion that federal law prohibits the use of race in decision-making in all areas of campus life could apply to them. Like Williams Brown, however, Bradley emphasized affinity spaces are not in immediate danger: “We do not see that Vassar’s affinity spaces will be affected by the letter. Our affinity spaces [are] non exclusionary and will continue in that way.” Vassar’s Statement on Affinity Spaces notes, “Affinity spaces are intended to center the experiences and concerns of particular groups, but cannot be exclusionary.” According to a footnote in the statement, this means that everyone must have equal access to such spaces regardless of race, national origin, gender or any other protected class. A follow-up memo to the DCL clarified: “Schools with programs focused on interests in particular cultures, heritages, and areas of the world would not in and of themselves violate Title VI, assuming they are open to all students regardless of race… However, schools must consider whether any school programming discourages members of all races from attending.” 

Nevertheless, some students worry that the Trump administration’s focus on dismantling DEI in education will adversely affect campus. Student Facilitator of Engaged Pluralism, Em Friedman ’27, told The Miscellany News in a written correspondence, “Inclusive pedagogies have been politicized by President Donald Trump and the far-right, framed as ‘woke,’ ‘radical,’ and antithetical to America. So of course, I worry that the administration’s attack on DEI will affect so much of our day-to-day at Vassar.” 

Elebyjian expressed similar concerns, “Seeing the Trump administration’s crimes against student activists, like Mahmoud Khalil, is completely heartbreaking. With the targeting of marginalized activists and the hateful rhetoric we saw in the Department of Education’s ‘Dear Colleague letter,’ it is clear that affinity spaces are in a precarious position… I worry that in the coming years, there will be even fewer marginalized voices on college campuses, and our limited spaces for organizing will be shot down.” According to the Associated Press, Khalil, a green card–holding Palestinian former graduate student at Columbia, was arrested on March 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a Trump administration crackdown on participants in college protests against Israel’s genocide on Gaza. 

On March 21, in another email to students about the DOE, Bradley wrote about ICE’s increased focus on students who have protested the genocide: “We are guided by our Statement on Academic Responsibility and Respect for Persons, and we strongly endorse free speech—including peaceful protest—recognizing that it may not be used to incite violence, undertake discriminatory harassment, or disrupt educational opportunities of others.” Elebyjian expressed that the College is not sufficiently protecting minority students and those who have participated in protests: “The college has flagrantly failed to meet any of the promises they made after the end of the encampment last year. Those agreements meant a lot to many students, particularly for a lot of us Middle-Eastern students, since those promises felt connected to how Vassar views us and treats our identities.”

The DCL has also been more formally challenged. On Feb. 25, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFT-Maryland and American Sociological Association filed a lawsuit challenging the DCL. The lawsuit argues, “This Letter is an unlawful attempt by the Department to impose this administration’s particular views of how schools should operate as if it were the law… If this Letter is implemented, it will immediately and irreparably harm schools, educators, students, and communities around the country at all levels.” The lawsuit asks for an injunction prohibiting implementation of the DCL.

The DCL appears to be only the beginning of Trump’s vision for American education. The DOE has already laid off half of its employees—some 1,300 staff. On March 20, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to dismantle the DOE as completely as possible, returning education-related authority to the states. The order also reiterated that no federal assistance would go to DEI or similar programs. The department, however, will not shutter completely under the order: It will continue providing low-income assistance, money for children with disabilities, Pell Grants and student loans. Opponents of the order have already said that it will be challenged. Because the DOE was created by a congressional act in 1979, the agency can only be dismantled with congressional approval. It remains to be seen how courts will rule on the Trump administration’s drastic changes to higher education.