On February 6th, The Daily Pennsylvanian, an independent student publication at the University of Pennsylvania, reported that two schools at UPenn – the School of Dental Medicine and the Stuart Weitzman School of Design – have removed content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Additionally, UPenn’s athletics website has also taken down pages related to policies supporting transgender student athletes.
These changes were prompted by President Trump’s executive order issued on his first day in office, January 21st, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Admission Opportunities.” The executive order requires federally funded universities to terminate any DEI initiatives that may violate federal civil rights laws. UPenn took action to review its programs, policies, and more in response to this order. President Jamison stated on January 28th that the university is closely monitoring recent developments in Washington affecting higher education, including executive orders and upcoming legislation on research funding, financial aid, visas, immigration status, student loans, donations, and DEI initiatives, aiming to ensure UPenn’s compliance with federal laws.
On February 5th, President Trump issued another executive order titled “Protecting Women’s Sports by Promoting Fairness and Safety in Women’s Sports,” aiming to ensure that federally funded educational institutions protect the fairness and safety of female athletes in sports competitions. The order emphasized the importance of preserving equal opportunities for women and girls in athletics and preventing biological males from competing in women’s sports.
The next day, on February 6th, the US Department of Education announced investigations into UPenn and two other educational institutions and sports associations for potential violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments. UPenn’s athletics website promptly removed pages related to transgender inclusion policies and DEI initiatives.
The US Department of Education stated that UPenn allowed transgender male athlete Lia Thomas, a 2022 graduate, to compete on the university’s women’s swimming and diving team during the 2021-22 season. A former teammate of Thomas, Paula Scanlan, testified in Congress that they were subjected to psychological therapy to adapt to the idea of undressing in front of males.
Another university under investigation is San Jose State University in California, where male athlete Blaire Fleming allegedly conducted dangerous plays against opponents in a women’s volleyball match, leading the opposing team to forfeit the game to protect their female athletes. SJSU is accused of awarding scholarships to Fleming instead of several female athletes who applied for the same scholarship, and retaliating against those advocating for female athletes, including the women’s volleyball assistant coach.
Furthermore, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association faced scrutiny as a girls’ high school basketball team was forced to forfeit a game after a male player from the opposing team allegedly injured three female players. The association claimed that players cannot be excluded from teams based on gender identity.
The US Department of Education has notified K-12 schools and higher education institutions to enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments, which protects on the basis of biological sex.
President Trump’s executive order on “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Admission Opportunities” stated that DEI does not comply with civil rights laws. The US civil rights laws should protect individuals from discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin and support equal opportunities for all Americans. However, institutions in critical sectors of American society, including the federal government, major corporations, financial institutions, healthcare industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and higher education institutions, have adopted and actively used the cloak of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) or “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility” (DEIA) to implement and promote dangerous, demeaning, and unethical racial and gender preferences. Illegal DEI and DEIA practices “undermine national unity as they deny, defame, and undermine traditional American values of diligence, excellence, and individual achievement, instead supporting illegal, corrosive, and harmful identity-based spoils systems.”