CHARLESTON, S.C.— There was an extra meeting of the College of Charleston’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday to talk about new laws in the South Carolina General Assembly and a directive from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
President Andrew T. Hsu of the College of Charleston said that the measure, which includes a stand-alone law and a budget proviso, requires public colleges and universities to end their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The suggested state law is in line with what the federal “Dear Colleague” letter says. Hsu said that because the College of Charleston is a state school, it has to follow both federal and state rules.
Hsu said the administration had been told by the Board of Trustees to “review DEI-related offices, programs, and practices to ensure compliance if the legislation is enacted by Gov. Henry McMaster.”
As higher education policies and rules change at the state and national levels, this bill represents those changes, according to the letter from President Hsu. “I know that it will raise concerns among many in our campus community.”
The college stressed how committed it was to being open and honest, and they promised that any changes would not affect the guarantees for civil rights on campus.
“This university is and will continue to be a place where all students and employees – regardless of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity or religion – are supported in their academic and personal success,” it said.
There has been a lot of criticism and legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s moves that were meant to end DEI efforts in a number of institutions.
In a lawsuit that was filed this month, the American Association of University Professors, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and other groups say that Trump’s orders go beyond his power as president, violate the First and Fifth Amendments, and put academic freedom and access to higher education at risk.
The Trump administration gave colleges and universities in the US two weeks to get rid of diversity programs or risk losing government money. This made the president’s fight against “wokeness” more serious.
The memo adds to Trump’s order that diversity, equity, and inclusion projects are not allowed. As legal support, it points to the Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that race cannot be used as a factor in college admissions.
It looks like colleges have tried to get around the Supreme Court’s ruling by giving this new advice, which is directly about getting into college.
There has been legal discussion about whether the Supreme Court’s decision applies to financial aid. Some schools and institutions have decided to get rid of racial requirements for some scholarships because of this.
