TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Several student organizations held a rally in support of diversity, equity and inclusion on Thursday at the University of Arizona.
This comes as the Trump administration sent a memo on February 14 telling schools and universities they have two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or face potential loss of federal funding.
The two-week deadline is tomorrow, February 28. This is different than executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI, which a federal judge has blocked.
Rally organizers had a list of demands, which include:
- Job security and fair treatment
- Continuation of current initiatives
- Preserve student spaces
- Transparent and virtuous decision making
“I think they can try their best to dismantle the programs that we cherish and we’ve built, but they’re going to have a very hard time dismantling and getting rid of us,” student Justin Barnes said.
Included under their demand of preserving student spaces, a concern of some at the rally was the future of cultural and resource centers on campus.
“All these communities, all these resource centers are a safe space for us to hang out at,” student Tara Mitchell said. “They’re non-threatening, you make friends and everything and you really do build a community with the people that you hang with in these spaces.”
A university official tells KGUN 9 that a final decision has not been made regarding the cultural and resource centers on campus.
According to the university’s website, there are currently 15 centers and spaces.
The four page letter addressed from Craig Trainor with the U.S. Department Of Education Office For Civil Rights states, “All educational institutions are advised 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.”
The letter continues to state that institutions that don’t comply may face potential loss of federal funding.
Students at the rally told KGUN 9 that they hope university leadership hears their voices and concerns.
“I’m not going to be complacent and I don’t think anyone else should be complacent. We’re tired of empty promises, we’re tired of lies, we have to show the administration and everyone else who’s out here that we mean business,” student Tredavon Rhodes said.
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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
