Ever since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, there has been a slew of executive orders put in place that have shifted the trajectory of policies in our country. Of the many policies is one that has been in the news long before Trump came into the Oval Office: DEI. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a framework set in place that helps organizations reach out to often underrepresented candidates and allow them opportunities that are not always granted to members of their communities. It’s a way for schools and businesses to acknowledge the social and economic disparities across the country and do better at allowing for others to have an opportunity.
In the face of the current political climate, Natasha Martin, vice president of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at Seattle University, emphasized the importance of DEI at SU.
“As a Jesuit Catholic University, we see no dichotomy between academic excellence and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging—these principles are integral to who we are as a learning community,” Martin wrote in an email to The Spectator.
Thursday, Feb. 27, the Business Leaders of Color Coalition organization at Seattle U hosted a DEI panel with Gerald Corporal, the assistant dean of student engagement. He talked about how he ran a pre-college summer business institute that faced some roadblocks starting in 2023.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, the business program was required to be open to everyone, not just students of color and those from disenfranchised neighborhoods. When the program was opened to everyone, Corporal still made it a mission to go to the overlooked neighborhoods in the city and make the program known to the high school students who the program was initially for.
“While there is a feeling of security, there is also a feeling of anxiety,” Corporal said, speaking to the current status of DEI programs.
For Corporal, the uncertainty of not knowing what could happen next is scary. There is genuine cause for concern when it comes to job security and what the rolling back of these practices across the country could mean for our faculty.
Martin sees the ODI as an integral part of the mission of the university. Inclusivity is a framework that is part of the university’s goal to foster an environment that is welcoming of multiple backgrounds. The goal is “inclusive academic excellence” which fosters an environment in which staff and students feel they belong and are welcomed at Seattle U.
“Seattle University remains steadfast in its commitment to inclusive academic excellence as a core value. Regardless of external political pressures, the values of diversity, equity and inclusion will continue to be a priority at Seattle University, ensuring that our community remains welcoming, inclusive, and supportive for all,” Martin wrote.
Lucy Cress, a fourth-year social work major, criticized aspects of Seattle U’s approach to DEI.
“I feel like SU’s approach to DEI is very administration-led in a way that can feel performative. I feel really grateful to get to hear from some remarkable speakers at events like the Racial Equity Summit, but I feel like the university markets these events to boost its image, more so than it listens to student concerns regarding diversity and inclusion. From a student-led perspective, there is a lot of diversity and energy amongst the student clubs, both cultural and social issue focused, whose events are widely promoted around the school,” Cress said.
Cress emphasized areas she feels the school could improve in terms of supporting minority students, including more involvement of queer students and students of color in university event planning. She also discussed handling sensitive topics in discourse between administration and students.
“Topics of racial justice have not always been well received in spaces where student opinion is heard, like the President’s town hall last spring where he refused to denounce the genocide in Gaza as students vulnerably shared why this was important to them,” Cress said.
DEI has helped in fostering inclusivity at Seattle U. Corporal and Martin have highlighted that Seattle U is a school that has created an environment for inclusivity while Cress called attention to necessary areas of improvement with programs on campus and communication between administration and students.
