By Bailey Burroughs

In the face of more and more ICE arrests occurring every day, our students, both international and domestic, need more than the reassurance that our campus is diverse.

An email titled “Celebrating our Diverse and Inclusive Campus” was sent out to students on May 7 by the University of Louisville’s Office of Communications and Marketing, with a message from the newly installed president, Gerry Bradley.

Ironically, this message was sent the day after President Bradley’s interview with Louisville Public Media’s Bill Burton, where the canceling of the university’s Lavender Graduation, a long-standing graduation ceremony recognizing the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ+ students, was swept under the rug with hypotheticals. In the article, University of Louisville President Gerry Bradley discusses challenges facing the school. When asked if canceling this event could hurt the school’s reputation and enrollment, Bradley answered:

“No, I don’t think so at all, Bill, because I think that particular event was canceled just because of the framework that it was held in, because it was restrictive in who could participate in that. I think you know, when you think about what we should be doing going forward, is we need to make sure that we broaden those events, that they have different groups in there.”

“So it’s not like that group couldn’t have a particular opportunity to celebrate, but also that there are other people that are also celebrating. Whether there be a different group, like, you know, and I’m going to make this up, but if it was, you know, military-connected students that were having a graduation ceremony, but to have a broader event where all those groups could be represented, so that it wasn’t seen to be exclusionary.”

The cancellation of this ceremony, hosted by the Cultural and Equity Center and the Pride Alumni Council, is allegedly in compliance with the recently passed House Bill 4, upholding the Trump Administration’s anti-DEI executive order. In the message from President Bradley, he mentions compliance with the order but reiterated the importance of diversity and inclusivity on campus.

“I was proud to see diversity identified as one of UofL’s strengths in recently released climate surveys. One found that 85 percent of staff agree or strongly agree that UofL encourages students to have a public voice and share their ideas openly. Another determined that 80 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, ‘In my department, we welcome diversity in all its forms.’”

While it is heartening to see that the greater majority of the staff welcome diversity and encourage students to speak out, something is lacking: what are we doing to protect our students?

It is no secret that the Trump administration is targeting student activists, especially those on student or work visas.

The university might have an environment that encourages free speech, but those rights are at risk. We know that DEI means diversity, equity, and inclusion, but accessibility is part of this, too. Why is an institution of higher learning complying with a mandate that, at its core, is against diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility?

If the university’s communications team and President Bradley do not want to speak against the human and civil rights risks that come along with the mandate, they at least need to answer this: What are you doing to protect students’ rights?

Photo by Jai’Michael Anderson / The Louisville Cardinal