NORTH ADAMS — While President Donald Trump’s executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from college campuses has alarmed some, at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, it’s driven the institution to double down.
“We’re leaning into this and expanding,” said MCLA President James Birge of its DEI programs. “We’re continuing to implement the Board of Higher Education’s strategic plan for racial equity. We value diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”
One of a number of executive orders Trump has issued since he took office, the goal of this order and related orders appears to be part of a broad plan to decentralize education and give power on educational decisions to states. As has been the case with the Trump White House’s other orders, confusion has ensued, with colleges and universities preparing to modify their diversity work, or in the case of MCLA, dig in.
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives include student support services, needs-based aid programs, scholarships for minority groups, teaching on subjects like race and gender and cultural events, among others.
Andrew Ritter and Shivon Robinson of Williamstown participate in MCLA’s annual Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2024. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives include student support services, needs-based aid programs, scholarships for minority groups, teaching on subjects like race and gender and cultural events.
Berkshire Community College will also continue on with business as normal, unless informed, either by their own counsel or some other entity, that they must change their practices.
“Academic freedom is the cornerstone of a liberal arts education,” BCC President Ellen Kennedy said in a statement on Thursday. “We will continue to adapt to new executive orders … BCC is deeply committed to fostering a compassionate, inclusive community that stands against hate and supports our most vulnerable members.”
Williams College declined to comment for this story, citing the changing nature of Trump’s orders and White House directives.
Williams is impacted in a hyper-specific way, though, as part of Trump’s order stipulates the identification by federal agencies of up to nine entities, including colleges with endowments of more than $1 billion, for “civil compliance investigations.”
‘PRIVILEGED’ TO BE IN THE COMMONWEALTH
Nothing has changed at MCLA since the executive order, Birge said. No staff have been affected, no programs, no students.
The college is already in the process of expanding its DEI programs. MCLA’s DEI Committee, for example, works to make sure the college reaches its diversity goals.
Still, the order has caused concern on campus.
Birge said Trump’s administration “can’t make lawful DEI practices unlawful.” Despite the college’s defiance, Birge admits that the White House “may make it more difficult for us,” by threatening funding sources or through some other avenue.
Massachusetts has been quick to sue Trump over issues in the past; The office of state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in a lawsuit to stop the implementation of the funding freeze on Tuesday.
Birge says MCLA is emboldened by the state’s values and political leadership.
“We have some good backing from the governor and the attorney general around being able to sustain the legitimate and legal appropriation of federal funds to MCLA,” Birge said. “I think it is likely that we see dramatic differences across state lines. We’re privileged to be in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, where we value things like public higher education and diversity.”
“We’re leaning into this and expanding,” said MCLA President James Birge of its DEI programs. “… We value diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”
The college is currently planning a series of communications to be sent out to campus addressing Trump’s orders.
“MCLA students, faculty and staff are a pretty smart bunch,” Birge said, “and I think they recognize that Trump is a blowhard, he has a bombastic nature, so while he may say one thing, they wait to see what happens next.”
‘NOT GOING TO CHANGE OUR VALUES’
BCC spokesperson Jonah Sykes said that in terms of curriculum, the college doesn’t know exactly what it means in practice to get rid of DEI from instruction.
“Our faculty has academic freedom, and being a liberal arts institution, we’re going to be inclusive, and we’re not going to change our values,” Sykes said.
No one will be losing their jobs, and any related multicultural clubs and organizations are to function as usual, according to Sykes.
At Berkshire Community College, no one will be losing their jobs, and any related multicultural clubs and organizations are to function as usual, according to BCC spokesperson Jonah Sykes.
The lack of concrete guidance has in some ways made it easy to look past the order for the time being. Sykes pointed to the college’s shared governance structure, which includes DEI governance that works to make the college more inclusive, to bring in speakers, or to celebrate Black History Month, for example.
The fact that colleges don’t yet know what to make of this, though, remains a cause for consternation.
“We’re not doing anything right now except trying to understand the implications,” Sykes said. “We haven’t had conversations yet about having to change policies and procedures. That might be on the horizon, but right now we’re going to continue to do what our mission and values indicate.”