On Thursday, Feb. 27, a protest was held in support of DEI initiatives on the University of Arizona campus at the administration building.
Various student groups organized the protest, including the Coalition of Black Students and Allies, MECHA de University of Arizona and UA FORCE, which stands for Feminists Organized to Resist, Create and Empower.
The protest comes after President Donald Trump and the Department of Education gave public universities a two-week deadline to get rid of all programs involving DEI, or risk losing federal funding.
The move sent shockwaves through the university, especially through the Cultural Resource Centers on campus as they were unsure of where that leaves them in the wake of the DEI upheaval happening throughout the federal government.
The protest brought out hundreds of students who support DEI initiatives at their campus. Between speakers, the organizers would lead students in chants of, “Protect our diversity!” and “Students united will never be divided!” among others related to the topic.
One of the speakers at the protest was senior student, Ky’Jah Greene, who spoke on behalf of African American Student Affairs.
“We stand together as testament to the resilience, brilliance and unwavering strength of marginalized students and staff,” Greene said. “AASA is more than a space or a center, it is the heart of Black joy on this campus. We will not let this administration, or any administration, take it away.”
Greene’s speech was met with loud applause and she said it was important for her to speak at the protest because, “as one of the most senior members of African American Student Affairs and someone who has lived there for all four years of my college experience, that space is my home. The space belongs to all of us, and it doesn’t deserve to be taken away after the fight to keep our space semester after semester.”
Another speaker was senior student Ezri Alfie who shared various examples of how the university handled past controversial events on campus.
“It was important to me to bring up past events like the Meixer shooting, or the anti-abortion billboards on the mall that were there for three days, just to show the pattern of disrespect to our marginalized students. I think the UA cares more about money than it does about their students which is a sad reality,” Alfie said.
One of the organizers, sophomore student Tara Mitchell, and student speaker Austin Willis shared that this potential compliance by the university to these anti-DEI executive orders erases marginalized student’s experiences at the university.
“It’s important to me and all of the people here because so many of us utilize these cultural resource centers,” Mitchell said. “These spaces are a chance for us to build community and they also provide students with jobs so in removing these centers in the name of DEI you’re removing financial stability as well.”
The protest was seen as a way for students to come together in the face of uncertainty coming from the government and to unite with one another. Graduate student Ben Armentrout thought the protest was important to send a message of solidarity.
“We have so many problems facing our world right now and yet everyone has the opportunity to build a better world, and that includes DEI,” Armentrout said. “We must commit ourselves to DEIA so everyone has the same opportunities.”
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