A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through my phone when a video of President Trump came up on my TikTok feed. In the video, he talked about the tragic plane crash over the Potomac River on Jan. 30. Trump blamed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the Federal Aviation Administration for the crash, suggesting that those policies led to the hiring of unqualified workers. Hearing Trump’s claims, I was shocked. The idea that DEI caused the crash felt absurd and baseless.
I was further troubled by the Trump administration’s termination of DEI policies in the federal government, along with the ongoing response from major companies and colleges to his anti-DEI rhetoric. After Trump’s inauguration, companies such as Meta, Amazon, McDonald’s and Google have retracted their DEI policies, which is a sharp retreat from the companies’ prior commitments to DEI. Public universities such as the University of North Carolina and the University of Texas, along with private universities like Harvard and MIT, have removed DEI requirements from curricula, faculty applications and more.
As companies and institutions nationwide retreat from DEI, GDS must stand firm, reemphasizing its commitment to DEI in order to combat misinformation, resist public norms and lead in shaping the future of DEI.
Since its founding as the first integrated school in D.C., GDS has been a leader in embracing progressive values. “The founders had the forward thinking to create a school that really disrupted and resisted against this notion that people of different race or religions should be separated,” Assistant Head for Equity and Inclusion Marlo Thomas said in an interview.
Misinformation about DEI has fueled backlash against DEI policies. Critics—both in the Trump administration and beyond—often portray DEI as unnecessary, claiming that DEI policies lower standards and unfairly advantage certain groups. Rather than lowering standards or giving unearned advantages, DEI actually expands opportunities and ensures that everyone has a fair chance to succeed. DEI is about recognizing and valuing all aspects of identity, including race, gender, religion, ability and even diversity of thought.
Misleading claims continue to turn DEI into a scapegoat, blaming it for national issues. These issues include the recent plane crash, the attempted assassination of President Trump, the Los Angeles wildfires and more. Instead of confronting the real causes of those issues, critics use events like the ones listed above to push an anti-DEI agenda.
GDS has both a responsibility and an opportunity to educate its students about the importance of DEI and equip them with the critical thinking skills to challenge false narratives. Furthermore, GDS has built a reputation as a progressive and socially conscious institution, with influence beyond only its own community due to its advocacy and community engagement. Defending DEI is essential to upholding GDS’s values and to set an example for the GDS community and beyond.
While GDS has maintained its commitment to DEI, the school has not taken enough action in pushing back against false narratives that portray DEI as negative or unnecessary. Simply upholding DEI within the school is not enough when misinformation continues to fuel broader efforts to undermine DEI. GDS must educate both the GDS community and the public about the purpose of DEI, countering false narratives that diminish DEI’s value.
“We have regularly, at the leadership team level, had conversations about who we are as a school,” Thomas said in an interview. Thomas said in conversations with the leadership team, the team discussed the importance of “doubling down” on GDS’s mission and values regarding DEI. Thomas said it is also important for students to feel like nothing regarding DEI on the GDS campus has changed following Trump’s statements.
However, the current passive response is not enough given the growing national movement to dismantle DEI programs. GDS must use its platform to make a statement, affirming its core values and pushing back against the broader shift to dismantle these essential programs. To preserve its core values, GDS must not only preserve DEI—it also needs to defend it.