Donald Trump and his administration are attacking Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the country. That includes those at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where the administration has bowed to Trump’s demands. Yesterday, dozens of university students protested at Centennial Hall. They aren’t happy with new UA President Suresh Garimella or with the school’s erasure of cultural programs. Censoring words and hiding history doesn’t make those words or that history less real. Some at the University of Arizona at Tucson might be rolling over for Trump, but many students are fighting back.
UA Tucson Students Protest For DEI
College students across the U.S. are protesting for a variety of reasons. University of Arizona students are protesting at Tucson after the school deleted its diversity website as well as its Cultural and Resource Center websites. The school also removed references to diversity and inclusion from its land-acknowledgement statement. These regressive acts of censorship are aimed at appeasing the Trump administration and preserving university funding. It’s authoritarian bootlicking, and many UA students don’t like it.
A TikTok by bubowskee about the UA student protest for DEI showed a determined crowd in Tucson. Many students carried signs and chanted outside Centennial Hall in a demonstration of opposition to the school. If any doubt remains about what the protestors stood for or why they spoke up, their own words leave no doubt. As one chant went,
When human rights are under attack
What do we do? Stand up, fight back
Columbia University protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil was abducted by the Trump administration earlier this month. Why? For denouncing the Palestinian genocide. Now, others face threats of detention and deportation by ICE for simply attending demonstrations. Every college that submits to fascist demands tightens the grip a little more. Students and teachers have always been on the frontline of America’s battle for free speech. The UA protest for DEI in Tucson is keeping the focus where it belongs: on standing up for the marginalized before nobody can.
