Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “we are the people, we are the power” on the Diag Thursday evening, as leaders of the Black Student Union led a crowd of University of Michigan students and community members in protest against the University’s recent elimination of all diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
LSA senior Princess-J’Maria Mboup, BSU speaker, was the first speaker of the rally. She condemned cutting DEI programs as a reversal of decades of progress made by previous Black activists hailing as far back as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
“We’re seeing a quick regression back into the hostile, overtly white supremacist institution that (the University) was designed to be,” Mboup said. “This university has undone decades of work centered around principles of diversity, equity and inclusion — principles that they’ve claimed for almost a decade to hold as core values to the institution. They’ve strategically taken down, all at once, the Office of DEI scholarships, programs and initiatives, including the campus-wide action item within DEI 2.0 that focused on enhancing Black student representation and experiences.”
Mboup also expressed feeling betrayed by the University’s decision after years of the administration claiming to support the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“(University) President Santa Ono, Provost Laura McCauley and (Vice President) for Student Life Martino Harmon spent two and a half years telling me, to my face, that they were invested in our work and improving the experience of Black students,” Mboup said. “I’ve personally spent nights and weekends working, skipped classes, failed exams, lost sleep and spent years of my life doing this work, so this cut for me is personal. For generations of student activists, it’s personal. Their decisions have been cowardly and cruel, and to cut the culmination of so much labor is a knife in the backs of all of those who fought the good fight.”
U-M alum Eaman Ali spoke at the event and criticized the University’s Board of Regents for their refusal to divest from Israeli companies profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Ali also discussed inaction from the University regarding the termination of student visas and funding cuts as a result of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“(The regents are) sitting back and watching as the federal government revokes the visas of 22 of our peers,” Ali said. “What’s more, as students of Color lose scholarships, as research to uplift our communities is cut, as measures to create access to this institution are erased, they are waffling and pretending that it’s simply out of their hands.”
Ali’s speech continued, saying he felt the size of the University’s endowment would empower the regents to be able to defend their students if they wished to do so.
“Make no mistake, the University of Michigan Board of Regents have a $19 billion endowment at their disposal and they’re choosing to hang us out to dry,” Ali said. “Make no mistake, the regents are not just cowardly in the face of fascism — they are fascists themselves.”
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA junior Keshava Demerath-Shanti said he believes it is important to let the administration know how harmful cuts to DEI programs are.
“This issue spans beyond just the campus itself,” Demerath-Shanti said. “My sister works at the hospital and some of the things they’ve cut have been things like translators for patients. The harm is really broad here with what’s happening with DEI and cutting it, and I think demonstrations like this can have an impact on letting the administration know we don’t appreciate them capitulating to this.”
In an interview with The Daily, Sandy Ackerman, community member and former University employee, said she feels the actions of the University administration are shameful.
“I’m retired from the (University), I worked here for 13 years and I thought it stood for certain values,” Ackerman said. “Apparently this current administration just thinks their job is to cave right now and prematurely capitulate to what Trump might ask of them, and it’s a damn shame because students deserve better.”
In an interview with The Daily, LSA junior Vincent Palmer said he believes students will prevail in the face of attacks on the University community.
“This type of thing can only go on for so long, and it has to come to a breaking point,” Palmer said. “Something has to change, and I know the people here will not stop fighting until it changes in their favor.”
Daily Staff Reporter Glenn Hedin can be reached at heglenn@umich.edu.
