As of March 1, President Donald Trump has signed three executive orders aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education: “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
In a Feb. 18 email to all Occidental students, faculty and staff, President Tom Stritikus said the federal policy environment and executive orders since Jan. 20 will not change the college’s mission.
“I would characterize the Executive Orders and the “Dear Colleague” letter as statements of intent that will certainly not be final, because I assume they will be challenged in the courts and there will be protracted discussions [and] debates about the impacts on campus,” Stritikus said in an interview with The Occidental. “I think it’s important for our campus community to know that Occidental College does not intend to preemptively comply with what is issued.”
The U.S. Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague” letter Feb. 14 addressed to schools nationwide, reaffirming its commitment to “providing our Nation’s students with an educational environment that is free of race, color, or national origin discrimination.” To accomplish this, the letter stated that federal law prohibits “using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
In an effort to discuss the executive orders and executive actions that impact higher education, Stritikus held four separate town halls for students, staff and faculty Feb. 20, 21 and 24. At the faculty town hall Feb. 21, professors expressed a desire for clarity — what changes will occur in the classroom, job security and the legality and implementation of new policies — as well as concern for their students.
At the faculty town hall Feb. 21, professors also shared varying opinions regarding Occidental’s written response to the executive orders and “Dear Colleague” letter. Some said they would like to see Occidental use this as an opportunity to make a statement and be a “leader in thought” for the country. Others expressed that too much too soon can be problematic for the safety of students, staff and faculty.
Director of the Intercultural Community Center (ICC) Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright said the executive orders give the college an opportunity to prove and actively demonstrate what Occidental stands for.
“I think this is a good opportunity to now be more mindful of — if this is what our mission is and this is what we value — how can we continue to support this work that we do,” Gonzalez-Wright said. “This is forcing us now to really dive deep into what we currently are doing and maybe where our gaps are.”
Equity Ambassador of the ICC Maya Karuho (first year) said she was relieved to read the Feb. 18 email from Stritikus.
“It’s been a long month already [with] Trump in office, and even that little victory [the email] meant so much — not [just] for me but also for Oxy and community and the people of color, the LGBTQ community, the first-gen [students], everyone,” Karuho said.
While many remain hopeful, various students and faculty brought up fears caused by the executive orders and latest actions of the Trump administration. At the faculty town hall Feb. 21 and student town hall Feb. 24, students and professors voiced concern regarding the possibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on campus.
At the faculty town hall Feb. 21, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Vivian Garay Santiago said she mandated that all of the student affairs staff complete training Jan. 17 led by General Counsel Nora Kahn on what to do if ICE comes to Occidental. According to Santiago, “Know Your Rights” cards will be distributed to key areas on campus. Santiago said to faculty that if a student issue arises with ICE to contact her or Campus Safety, and if it is regarding staff, to contact Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer Mel Gamba.
Assistant Professor of Theater & Performance Studies Will Power said his biggest concerns are that his lectures could be censored or that his students would no longer feel safe in the classroom. Power said that for him, the classroom is a very sacred space he curates.
“If it ever gets to the point where I’m not able to teach what I teach, then I’m just going to walk away from academia,” Power said. “If it’s a situation where, ‘OK, you cannot say these certain words.’”
Despite their opposition to DEI, the executive orders and “Dear Colleague” letter have not deterred the college’s ongoing search for a chief diversity officer (CDO), previously known as the vice president for equity and justice, according to Stritikus.
Stritikus said in an interview with The Occidental that the CDO will play an important role in leadership around building an inclusive, diverse and equitable community on campus, working alongside colleagues in the ICC, Title VI and Title IX offices and the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life.
“[The CDO] will be really helping us lead the kind of conversations that we want to build a community where diversity in all of its forms — including racial, ethnic, political diversity, ideological diversity — can find a way on the campus,” Stritikus said in an interview with The Occidental. “And we can ask questions, we can ask hard questions, we can be curious, we can debate and we can connect.”
According to a May 7, 2024 email from former Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Rob Flot, the previous CDO had left the college Spring 2023 to take a position at another institution. The email said Occidental would pause the search for a new CDO until Stritikus’s arrival the following summer. The current search launched Spring 2025, led by a committee of seven campus representatives and assisted by the search firm WittKieffer, according to a campus-wide email from Stritikus Dec. 5, 2024 and Jan. 21.
Gonzalez-Wright said she is one of the members of the CDO search committee. While the CDO role has been vacant for the past two years, Gonzalez-Wright said that different departments and student affairs have collectively taken on different roles to fill the role of the CDO — but it is not sustainable.
Karuho and Gonzalez-Wright said they see students’ mental health as something that needs to be supported and may be significantly impacted by the EOs. Karuho said that while she appreciated the reassurance that Stritkus’ email provided, it felt like a band-aid and wished she could have seen more, such as mental health resources.
“It’s not just whether we’re going to lose our jobs, but it’s our lives, it’s our mental health and that is so important,” Karuho said. “I think what the school can do as an initiative is really just be there for students.”
Contact Emma Cho at echo2@oxy.edu
