Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released a “Dear Colleague” letter, directing K-12 and higher education institutions to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs by Feb. 28, 2025 or risk losing federal funding.
At Longwood, officials are not sure at this point what actions they may need to take in response. In an email statement to The Rotunda, University Spokesperson and Deputy to the President Matt McWilliams wrote, “The ‘Dear Colleague’ letter from the Department of Education sent Friday has been the subject of much discussion as we try to understand how it will affect Longwood. We don’t know of any immediate impact, but are working with other colleges and universities in Virginia and higher education associations to understand its implications,” and added, “To date, we have not received any further guidance from federal or state officials with more detail.”
The order, which left schools largely without guidance on how to proceed, states, “Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices.”
It adds, “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them… under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
Furthermore, the letter states DEI programs “frequently preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not” and “stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes.”
At this point, it is unclear which programs may be impacted by the letter, but it advises institutions to, “(1) ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law; (2) cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends; and (3) cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.”
It goes on to state, “Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding.”
Other school administrations in the commonwealth have also engaged in discussion over the letter’s impacts. For example, the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors called a special meeting this Friday to measure and respond to the impacts of the Trump Administration’s actions. Longwood’s Board of Visitors next meets on March 20 through 22 and has not yet given any public response as of publication.
The letter was discussed at the Feb. 18 meeting of the Student Government Association, where Vice President for Student Affairs Cam Patterson addressed senators prior to McWilliams’ statement to The Rotunda.
Patterson said, “We're taking the time to evaluate things as to how it could potentially impact our work at Longwood. But, I just want to reiterate that we have not made any adjustments to things that we are doing or offering at this present moment.”
During his report, SGA President Neil Miller said, “I can promise that I will always fight [in] support of DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) for minority students, and for students that hold visas for immigrant status, and I will continue to do everything that I can to support that student population during this confusing time.”
Alyssa Ashley, a member of the SGA Senate, said, “I represent a lot of multicultural students here at SGA, I will say, full transparency, it is a very scary time for me and my population… with our safe spaces being up in the air.” Ashley is the SGA Representative for the C.H.A.N.G.E. Coalition, a collective of Longwood’s multicultural organizations pushing for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility on campus. “Check in on your community members,” she said.
Miller mentioned during the meeting SGA would soon release a statement of support in the wake of the ‘Dear Colleague' letter from the DEIA committee.
In a statement to The Rotunda, International Student Rep. and SGA DEIA committee chairperson Júlia Novaes wrote, “My committee and I are currently working on getting a statement letter posted in support of minority students, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, visa holders and the importance of DEIA. I believe it is crucial to understand the extent of how the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter could affect our campus.”
The Rotunda will continue to follow this developing story.
