By Bridget Sawyer
As president of Hofstra University’s largest LGBTQ+ organization, Lavender Grove, senior public relations and mass media student Aidan Judge had heaps on his plate this past spring, from planning drag shows to organizing meetings with alumni. At the same time, though, his workload came with a new stress, caused by events beyond the campus’s walls.
“I think what they’re doing is very messed up,” said Judge, referring to the threat of federal funding cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “America is a country that is built on diversity and built on people of different identities coming together and creating something greater because of it.”
Judge is one of many students, both at Hofstra and across the country, who worry that the reduction in funding for DEI could translate to real-world consequences for marginalized young people. Reduced federal funding could mean fewer programs to support universities’ most vulnerable populations.
National threats to the organizations that represent many LGBTQ+ youth may put them at risk, a number of students said. This has caused a sense of uncertainty in students who seek comfort through representation.
Since the Trump administration began threatening budget cuts to DEI programming, schools across at more than three dozens states have faced repercussions as DEI programs come under threat. That includes bills passed to restrict DEI programs and the closure of DEI positions and offices.
Judge quickly noted, however, that he felt supported by Hofstra and was proud to be a student at a university that has stuck to its core values and practices. This past spring, Hofstra was one of more than 100 colleges to sign a petition against the Trump administration’s initiatives to decrease DEI.
Diversity, equity and inclusion have been significant components of the United States education system dating back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
In a statement released by the White House Jan. 20, the Trump administration said it would work to end “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.” Areas targeted for cuts include research, grants and programs related to DEI. Federal agencies, including the department of Education and Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, have acted to reduce or eliminate DEI programs, positions and funding.
Many schools are standing with their students and remaining true to their values, including Hofstra. “We haven’t made any changes. We’re sticking to our values,” said Cornell Craig, Hofstra’s vice president of equity and inclusion. At Hofstra, DEI will remain a fundamental part of education, said Craig, who described a variety of resources that are available to students and faculty on campus.
Craig noted, “In more local and regional levels, the conversation on attacking particular communities, especially vulnerable communities like the LGBT community as well as other intersectional identities that intersect with sexual identities, creates a sense of uncertainty and insecurity, and also a sense of [fear] for those who identify in some of those more vulnerable communities.”
“We haven’t made any changes. We’re sticking to our values.”
Cornell Craig, Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, Hofstra University
Recently, Lavender Grove and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups QTPOC and IEI hosted their annual “Drop of Drag” event, which reached over 400 students on campus and raised more than $1,400 to support transgender youth. “I think Hofstra sticks to its guns, and the community shows up and shows out for events like this,” Judge said, “but if [the Trump administration’s efforts are] going to be something that’s affecting everybody on a grander scale, I’m worried about how that will affect smaller communities.”
Frankie DiCalogero, a Hofstra senior journalism major who also identifies as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, said students must not lose hope. “I think you can specifically see with this administration today a lot of the dangers that are going on and affecting a lot of marginalized communities,” DiCalogero said, “so for us young people who are coming up in this world, we have to do our part in really exercising our rights just being who they are.”
“With the current cuts to DEI programming and how much it impacts marginalized communities,” he continued, “I think it’s something we need to be worried about and something we can’t stop fighting for. We have to be loud, and we have to be proud.”
