This is an article from the May 2025 Civitas Examiner (Volume 2, No. 2) and was written by one of our students, Jack E. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue. To read more Civitas Examiner stories or to submit your own, click here.
When Donald Trump took office on January 20th, 2025, one of his goals was to eliminate diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) policies throughout many sectors of the country, including higher education.
Missouri State University, located in Springfield, Missouri, is one of the universities impacted by such cuts to DEI programs. In a statement sent out by MSU president Richard “Biff” Williams on January 29th, the removal of programs like the Office of Inclusive Engagement and the Collaborative Diversity Conference and Inclusive Excellence Awards Gala, to comply with President Trump’s threats, were announced.
While the definition of DEI has remained relatively the same over the years, many people have their own definition and view of what the term actually means.
“In my terms, DEI is exactly what it sounds like,” freshman political science major Brooklyn Eiserer said.
“It’s about diversity; it’s about opportunity. I feel like it’s about disrupting the system that the US has always had, which is a very systemically racist, systemically oppressive system. DEI put in place an opportunity for individuals, who are minorities or are disenfranchised, to be, you know, considered the same as everyone else.”
When the announcement was first issued, MSU students were alarmed and unsure of what the future held for them.
“I woke up to an email that said DEI was pretty much gone,” freshman journalism major Kamryn Stofer said. “I was getting ready for class thinking that I was going to lose my scholarship.”
MSU had several scholarships regarding student diversity, including the “Diversity in Education Scholarship,” which provides $2,000 for the students’ first 2 years and $3,000 for the following 2 years. As well as the “Inclusive Excellence Scholarship,” which provided $4,000 per school year. It was later announced by President Williams that these scholarships given out by the university would still be upheld due to the original email not clarifying whether these programs were going to be maintained or terminated.
After the announcement, there were many protests facilitated by MSU students as well as groups like the Springfield Missouri Young Communist League protesting against DEI cuts and other right-wing ideology. A benefit presented by the public outrage was an increased social media presence of DEI awareness.
“The increase in social media DEI awareness has increased exponentially,” Stofer said.
“The amount of people that I follow on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat and their awareness of DEI policies has skyrocketed. I have seen that post more on social media in the last four months than I have in the entirety of the first part of the semester.”
For many individuals, the importance of DEI throughout the campus was a major factor in people’s decisions to apply and attend MSU.
“I was upset because it was one of the reasons I had chosen the school,” Eiserer said. “I wanted a school that had diversity, especially when I had options like LSU (Louisiana State University) WashU (Washington University in St. Louis), which are fairly diverse.”
“But I chose Missouri State in hopes that it was super diverse, and that’s exactly what it was. They have certain buildings that are literally dedicated as a safe space for LGBTQ+ students, African-American students, like that’s just what they’re known for.”
The threats made by Donald Trump during his campaign and term relating to cutting college funds were a persistent threat that ultimately led to the cancellation of DEI programs at MSU, among hundreds of colleges throughout the state of Missouri and the rest of the United States.
“You have to make a decision because obviously, no matter what you do, if you continue DEI, students are gonna be mad, if you stop, students are gonna be mad. However, I do think the entire program of DEI is getting ripped out from under staff, students and faculty so quickly without any warning. I think that was more harmful than just taking away certain parts of DEI to reform the entire program.”
“If certain parts were put in, and parts were taken out then that would’ve been better than just ripping out DEI from under our feet.”
