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At what point can a public institution stand against policies thrust upon them by those who have historically funded it?
This is what I have been asking myself repeatedly. In sadness, in frustration, in the hallways between classes, outside of resource centers soon to be changed, in the kitchen, my bed and while reading through the Colorado State University’s core principles and mission statements that once meant something but now feel wholly empty.
Even as I write this, I stare blankly at CSU’s student activism website. Though the page is still intact at this moment, I know the site is soon to be some foreign artifact, something untraceable and inaccessible, like a word on the tip of my tongue I can never quite find. I read the sentences over and over, trying to snap a picture in my brain so I could remember when our school — our country — still cared about the needs of its students.
On Feb. 18, President Amy Parsons and the CSU administration released a statement echoing a letter from the Department of Education, which essentially gave public universities two weeks to prohibit using race “in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of student, academic and campus life.”
“But there is a blatant difference between following orders out of financial obligation and deliberately ignoring the concerns and confusion of your constituents.”
The university administration’s statement was horrifically vague. After stressing the importance of funding and following federal orders, the CSU administration wrote, “The path forward may challenge our campus in different ways. For some members of our community, these changes will be disruptive and concerning, and I understand that many individuals feel uncertain. I ask that we extend grace, dignity and respect to each of our fellow Rams.”
I acknowledge that, as a public college, Colorado State University is controlled by the financial hand of our government and, therefore, regrettably, by the hand of President Donald Trump. While the CSU administration addressed this, they have failed in correctly acknowledging the concerns and emotions of the very community they represent.
The reality is that many CSU students simply do not feel just “uncertain.” Uncertainty implies a lack of assuredness or, almost, a lack of full, concrete emotion. The CSU administration and Parsons know about the sit-ins, the protests and the petitions yet still fail to properly address these fears and these emotions that are certainly more palpable than uncertainty. They are more than aware of the anger and fear running rampant throughout campus right now — anger and fear caused in part by federal policies and in part by CSU’s compliance with them but also due to the vagueness of the statements released.
No wonder we began to speculate about the Cultural Resource Centers being eradicated — not a single plan was specified other than the fact that “the path forward may challenge our campus in different ways.” What were we supposed to think? CSU tells us that campus is a safe space, then vaguely threatens to eradicate the first places we’d go. They promote degree offerings for whomever desires one then end the scholarships that allow us to do so.
Over the last few months, as explained in a statement by CSU’s Cultural Resource Centers, CSU has intentionally rolled back resources for students and faculty pertaining to DEI initiatives. They have taken down online resources for undocumented students, not to mention completely wiping out the use of “undocumented” on these pages. They have paused hiring in all Cultural Resource Centers. They have stopped DEI training for all faculty. The word “multicultural” has been removed from the MURALS program and all its related materials.
These are just several examples out of over a dozen instances that have been quietly swept under the rug. Again — I don’t know the legality or the loopholes that admin can do to protect students targeted by Trump’s plans. I don’t know how vocally a public institution can refute policies made by the people funding it. But there is a blatant difference between following orders out of financial obligation and deliberately ignoring the concerns and confusion of your constituents. We are not uncertain about how we feel — we are uncertain about whether you value our voices as much as you claim.
Reach Emma Souza at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @_emmasouza.
