Image From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In late January of this year, President Trump signed an order to effectively eradicate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across the government. The programs in question are organizational frameworks that seek to promote equal treatment of all people, specifically groups that have been historically subject to discrimination. However, the Trump administration believes that DEI programs are based on radical left-wing ideologies that are detrimental to societal unity. Along with this order, Trump has stated that schools that continue to provide DEI programs will have significant cuts to their funding. Particularly, the Trump administration seeks to cut teacher training grants, which can truly put a strain on the school systems in a variety of areas.
Even if students don’t immediately recognize it, here at Washington High School there are programs that could be considered “DEI”. For example, WHS hosts Ethnic Studies classes that freshmen are required to take for one semester and that is open for juniors and seniors. In this class, students learn about the history behind a multitude of cultures, religions, and backgrounds. Many students that take the class feel that it is an essential part of their education at WHS. “These programs teach us very important and integral parts of history that everyone should know in order to not repeat them,” says junior Shaarav Mulay. “Just by knowing about all of these events and cultures, it will allow for our generation to thrive and grow.” Students themselves advocate for DEI programs, which for some goes to show their importance and effectiveness.
However, there is also the opposing point of view that DEI programs, like Ethnic Studies, actually divide students into the oppressors and the oppressed. Many parents are opposed to these classes because they believe that their students are being categorized based on their fixed traits, degrading some children and leading to them having a negative outlook on themselves. Alongside parents, many different civic groups believe that these classes are just another political agenda that should not be taught to the youth.
The status of DEI programs in many districts is the responsibility of the school board. One of our very own teachers, Mr. Block, recently won a seat on Newark’s school board. Block believes removing DEI programs can have negative effects: “The cancellation of DEI initiatives makes bringing together people from all different backgrounds and fostering empathy within a school environment much harder.” Mr. Block worries that the education and the unity that DEI programs provide will be at risk in public schools across the country. However, he also believes that even if DEI programs are taken away, there will still be ways for teachers to achieve their goals. “I think that school systems will find ways to continue to support the mission of DEI, even if there are legal requirements that those things go by,” he says. “I think that school systems are resilient, and I think they will find ways to continue to support all students.”
There are also strategies that students can take to keep these programs. Mr. Block shares that from his perspective of being both a teacher and a school board member, students’ voices matter, and at times can be the most effective way to make a difference. “As a school board member, when students speak up, the adults listen extra carefully because it takes tremendous courage for students to advocate for their own education.”
Hailia Morshidi is a junior at Washington High School. She was born and raised in Fremont, California. This is her first year being apart of The Hatchet and she is very interested in writing on many important topics. These include global issues, local news, and student life here at Washington. She enjoys reading, writing, hanging out with friends, and listening to multiple different genres of music. In the future, she would like to study economics with a focus on pre-law in the hopes of becoming a lawyer.