The Civil Discourse Initiative, a Contracted Independent Organization which aims to foster open dialogue through a series of student discussions, hosted a student panel Tuesday titled “Politics or Pedagogy?” to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion at the University. Leaders of multiple student organizations answered questions regarding the purpose of DEI, the responsibilities of the Board of Visitors to the student body and the Trump era of politics.
The three student speakers included Jaeda Fontaine-Rasaiah, Queer Student Union political-education committee member and second-year College student, Talmadge Gunter, University Democrats social chair and first-year College student, and Emily Frost, Student Council director of University Relations and second-year College student. A scheduled fourth panelist — Chase Huffman, Blue Ridge Center student fellow, vice president of pre-law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta and fourth-year College student — was unable to attend this event.
Henry Brown, CDI director of logistics and second-year College student, served as moderator for this event. Brown said that the topic of DEI has recently come under scrutiny through the passage of Executive Order 14173 in January. This order demands that all public institutions must end DEI programming and practices in order to maintain federal funding. The Board responded by dissolving the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships March 7.
According to Brown, one of the major criticisms of DEI is the ambiguity of this term whose definition can vary from person to person. He noted that this ambiguity has far reaching effects on the University as it is unclear what branches of the University have been impacted by the decision to eliminate DEI across the University.
Brown said that University President Jim Ryan recently filed a report to the federal government outlining changes made regarding DEI following the Board decision. Ryan had 30 days from the dissolution to create a plan to eliminate or restructure elements of DEI at the University before filing a report to the federal government on the University’s compliance with Trump’s executive order. The University had not confirmed the presence of this report at the time of publication, and the report has not yet been released to the public.
Frost said that she has grown increasingly concerned about the effects of this Board decision as a result of a new website from the conservative alumni organization, the Jefferson Council. This website includes a portal for students to report existing elements of DEI which remain embedded into the structure of the University.
“My answer to [the impact of the Board’s decision] has definitely shifted with the launch of the Jefferson Council's DEI reporting,” Frost said. “However, at least several members of the Board of Visitors are also involved with the Jefferson Council. So because these reports are going to Jefferson Council [and] because [of their connections to] the Board of Visitors, I am a bit worried about what that's going to look like.”
Gunter shared Frost’s concern, saying that he hoped the Board’s decision was just an attempt to appease Trump’s demands by reorganizing elements of DEI into other University branches. However, due to the continued attack on DEI across the nation, he now believes that all DEI-related programs will be impacted either through restructuring or elimination.
“I think that student groups and student relationships should prepare for the worst, because there is this entire narrative that is [threatening] the end of DEI across Virginia and across the nation,” Gunter said.
The panel also discussed the power of the Board in making these decisions. Frost pointed out that 13 of the 17 current members were appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. According to Frost, these Board members were chosen to represent the interests of Youngkin and the Commonwealth rather than the students. The Board will consist of 17 Youngkin appointees by the end of the governor’s term.
Fontaine-Rasaiah offered a solution to the politicization of the University’s governing board saying that ideally, Board members would be elected democratically by students and faculty. However, she noted that this seems unlikely and instead supported the inclusion of both a student and faculty representative with voting rights as these are currently non-voting Board positions.
Another issue regarding Board responsiveness to the student body, which was noted by all three of the panelists, is Board members’ lack of University involvement. Gunter said that Ryan receives much of the scrutiny for decisions made by the Board even when he has no direct say in the matter. According to Gunter, Ryan is a more accessible leader than any single Board member, as they are not present on Grounds beyond attending meetings four times a year.
“We have a lot of issues with Ryan because he is the face of our University, but the Board of Visitors doesn't have a face. When's the last time that you saw them here at the University?” Gunter said. “[Ryan] gets stuck in this really awful place when really the Board of Visitors are the ones making decisions, he's just the enforcer.”
Jacob Phillips, audience members and fourth year College student, said that he appreciated the panelists’ acknowledgment of the difficult position imposed upon the Board and especially Ryan. However, he also noted that he would have liked more diversity of perspectives in this discussion.
“I think a few good points were made, like, as far as the inability of the University's administrators to do much. [They are] stuck between a hard rock and a hard place,” Phillips said. “But I would have liked to see more pushback … a little bit of devil's advocate. I think it's productive in discovering higher truths around things and understanding that these kinds of situations are more complicated than we try to make them out to be.”
Brown also asked the three speakers to define DEI in their own words. Fontaine-Rasaiah defined DEI as a commitment made by institutions to hold space for historically marginalized individuals. She said that this commitment is largely symbolic, but serves as an important effort made by institutions such as the University to provide extra support to individuals who have faced additional challenges due to the impact of historical marginalization.
Gunter agreed with Fontaine-Rasaiah’s definition while also noting the legal basis of DEI efforts. According to Gunter, DEI is not a new concept as it is rooted in constitutional law through Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.
“DEI is often characterized as something new, but for me, it's always been here … The law says that discrimination is wrong, so as much as it is about creating safe space, it's not a new safe space,” Gunter said. “I think that the conservative right likes to indicate that DEI is new [and] scary, but I think it's really important to return to this idea that it's just enforcing existing legislation.”
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