The Paw Print

By Mia Mathew, Staff Writer

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has become a hard conversation in recent times, especially due to the Trump administration’s actions. DEI initiatives are dedicated to fostering inclusion and representation of commonly underrepresented groups. They are responsible for providing equal opportunities in workplaces, initiating equity-related grants, creating mentorship programs for youth and more. According to the League of Women Voters, “it is estimated that at least 6 million women held positions they wouldn’t otherwise hold because of affirmative (DEI) action.” According to Accenture, there have been national success stories of the DEI program including achieving pay equity for major corporations such as IKEA and Salesforce.

Apart from success in the business world, DEI programs also strive for an educational focus. According to EdTrust, DEI programs have been responsible for introducing students to new programs they would not otherwise have had access to, promoting staff diversity in schools and exposing students to diverse perspectives through creating inclusive educational environments. But now, these programs are increasingly at risk.

A White House fact sheet confirms that President Donald Trump has actively dismantled DEI programs, claiming that they are “discriminatory” and “wasteful.” However, these claims are merely propaganda by the administration to justify the damage that they have done. The Trump administration has not only fought DEI programs in industries and corporations but also undermined such programs in education. For example, the administration has worked towards banning discussions with race- and gender-based content from classrooms. The government has enforced these directives through fear-based tactics including threats of federal funding cut for schools that refuse to comply. The administration has also pushed federal support for private, religious and charter schools over public schools, which reveals illegal favoritism in funding initiatives.

The proposed policies violate students’ constitutional rights by restricting their freedom of speech and right to receive information, which poses extreme consequences for our educational pursuits. Furthermore, threatening budget cuts if schools do not comply with their restrictive measures cannot be ignored. U.S. public schools significantly rely on federal funding. According to the National Education Association, federal funding lowers class sizes, gives support to diverse learners and provides students with consistent meals. If the federal government restricts their funds, then these schools will have to rely on local governmental programs, meaning many programs could be cut. 

Schools have been forced to comply with these threats, through canceling events, scrubbing websites and more. Students should be able to gain access to diverse perspectives and have hard discussions. Restricting their education by threatening public schools is unacceptable. The government cannot have unfettered power to impose the values of the current party in power at the expense of our education.

I was born in India and moved to the U.S. when I was little. I love teaching my friends about my culture, whether that is having them try different foods or coming with me to holiday celebrations. In addition, I get so excited whenever my friends share their cultures with me, from taste testing Filipino food to learning new words in their languages. According to Payton sophomore Anvi Shah, “Having diverse friend groups helps you experience different perspectives or cultures, and you can celebrate together! … Diversity allows for people to be open minded and understand their peers to a deeper level.” 

On a larger scale, the best policies and solutions come from collaboration and communication with others. If we never explore beyond our own opinions, our world becomes isolated. Coming together with our unique backgrounds is the only way that we can work to make our society better. Canceling the DEI programs and restricting these conversations where we celebrate the beautiful things that make each of us unique, hinders our ability to work together. Once we set that precedent for a generation of students who cannot learn in a diverse and inclusive educational environment, our world will suffer. We will suffer from depriving future generations of the skills they can only get through embracing diverse opinions.  

For example, Payton teachers provide students with a diverse curriculum inclusive of many different viewpoints. Raina Suri, a sophomore at Payton, states that “DEI cuts are super bad … because of these cuts to DEI — [students] are afraid of what will happen to their college prospects if they take a heritage course … like AP African American History.” Suri states that the cuts are not only “cutting off access to a lot of marginalized groups it also discourages a lot of people from even learning about them, so it creates culture [that] perpetuates a lot of ignorance about the purpose of DEI and why it should be implemented to help the groups that it does.”

On a wider scale, it also applies to Chicago schooling. Ash Liang, a junior at Payton, states “America’s historical origins have structurally built our educational systems to crowd out marginalized voices, and … just looking at selective enrollment systems, for example— not everyone has equal access to the frankly absurd amount of test prep camps that have been all so common nowadays— honestly, if there wasn’t weighting based on tier systems, we’d be looking at a very different Payton. I don’t think DEI action is unfair in any way and I’m pretty disappointed in these cuts.” 

The administration claims that cutting DEI will ensure more equity and merit-based hiring — which is completely incorrect. According to Forbes, DEI is our only chance at a meritocracy. By expanding the pool of recruited employees, companies have a wider success rate of hiring people with the skills and talent needed for the job. DEI programs are not hiring people solely for the purpose of representation, but they are ensuring that people have equal access to job opportunities. Afterwards, the hiring is done purely based on merit.

In regard to school curriculum, President Trump argues that DEI in education creates curricula that are centered on “disfavored subjects,” or subjects touching on issues regarding race, identity and gender. By removing diverse perspectives and inclusivity in our curriculum, we are harming students’ ability to learn beyond the “established” perspective. We are also perpetuating the harmful cycle of underrepresenting minority groups, in a country supposedly advocating for opportunity and equality for all. By shying away from history because it is uncomfortable is shielding ourselves from the truth. And you know what they say: those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We cannot allow this to happen under the basis of false propaganda spread by the administration.

Recently, however, there has been good news. Following a federal court decision, the US Department of Education rescinded its February 2025 directive, the “Dear Colleague” letter, according to the National Education Association, that aimed to end DEI initiatives in schools and higher education institutions. The letter discussed how DEI programs caused inequality and ending them would be a win for merit-based education. This means that there are no longer threats of federal funding cuts to schools with DEI programs.

The concession was based on much opposition against this initiative. But even so, the damage has already been done. The administration will continue to relentlessly push for its stated goals, regardless of what the courts say. Our administration has shown that they do not care about democratic principles or basic human rights. They will continue to push about directives such as this, to limit our constitutional rights, unless we start to speak up for good. Embracing diverse perspectives in our education is the only way to fight back. Knowledge is power, and right now, our education system has just proved that.