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The Trump administration is giving Americas schools and universities two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, raising the stakes in the presidents fight against wokeness and sowing confusion as schools scramble to comply. In a memo Friday, the Education Department gave an ultimatum to stop using racial preferences as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas. Schools are being given 14 days to end any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race. Educators at colleges nationwide were rushing to evaluate their risk and decide whether to stand up for practices they believe are legal. The sweeping demand threatens to upend all aspects of campus operations, from questions on college applications to classroom lessons and campus clubs. Its meant to correct what the memo described as rampant discrimination in education, often against white and Asian students. Schools have been operating on the pretext that selecting students for diversity or similar euphemisms is not selecting them based on race, said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights. No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment and character. The guidance drew sharp backlash from civil rights groups and university groups. Some believe its vague language is meant to have a chilling effect, pressuring schools to eliminate anything touching on the topic of race even if it may be defensible in court. Creating a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses is much more of the goal than a clear statement of existing law, said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. The memo is an extension of President Donald Trumps executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It essentially reflects a change in the federal governments interpretation of antidiscrimination laws. As legal justification, it cites the 2023 Supreme Court decision barring race as a factor in college admissions. Although the ruling applied only to admissions, the memo says it applies more broadly. Put simply, educational institutions may neither separate or segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race, it said. On Monday the Education Department announced it also cut $600 million in grants for organizations that train teachers. The programs promoted divisive concepts like DEI, critical race theory and social justice activism, the department said. The new guidance seeks to remove race from areas including financial aid, housing, graduation ceremonies, hiring and promotion. It also takes aim directly at college admissions, suggesting colleges have sought to work around the Supreme Court’s decision. Using non-racial information as a proxy for race will now be viewed as a violation of federal law, the memo said. As an example, it said it’s unlawful for colleges to eliminate standardized testing requirements to achieve a desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity. Dozens of colleges across the U.S. have dropped SAT and ACT requirements in recent years for a variety of factors. The guidance reaches beyond the scope of the Supreme Court’s decision and is almost certain to be challenged in court, said Angel B. Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. While the Supreme Court decision bans race as a factor in evaluating applicants, the memo aims to ban race even in the recruitment of potential students, he said. Practices that have long been commonplace could suddenly become legal liabilities, Pérez said, including recruiting in underrepresented areas or buying lists of potential students with certain academic and demographic information. Companies including the College Board and ACT have long sold lists of students to colleges, acting as a matchmaker and providing a pool of potential applicants who meet certain criteria. Colleges and universities are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place, Pérez said. They know that what theyre doing is not illegal, but they are worried that if they do not comply, not having federal funding will decimate them. College application essays are targeted by the memo, raising questions about how far colleges can go in inviting students to share their personal experiences, including their race. The guidance says colleges can’t use essays as a way of predicting a student’s race. In the Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said nothing in the ruling prevents colleges from considering an applicants discussion of how race affected his or her life, though he warned that colleges couldn’t simply use essays as an indirect workaround to consider applicants’ race. In a campus letter at the University of Michigan, President Santa J. Ono said leaders are working to understand the implications. Some colleges said they expect little change from the memo. At Oregon State University, a legal review concluded that its programs are fully compliant with all state and federal laws, according to a campus message from Rob Odom, vice president of university relations and marketing. The department memo appears to take aim at scholarships reserved for students from certain racial backgrounds. Theres been legal debate about whether the Supreme Court decision extends to financial aid, with some schools and institutions deciding to scrap racial requirements for certain scholarships. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said theres no consensus on the question, and the group is trying to understand how the memo could affect student aid. What we do know, however, is that 14 days is insufficient time for schools to assess and implement any necessary changes to be in compliance, the group said in a statement. The last thing students need when making plans about how to pay for college is uncertainty over when or whether they will receive financial aid theyve been relying on. The confusion around Trump’s order was apparent at last week’s confirmation hearing for education secretary nominee Linda McMahon. Asked whether classes on African American history would run afoul of the president’s order, McMahon said she wasn’t quite certain. Collin Binkley, AP education writer The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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E-Commerce
One of Donald Trumps first acts as president was to sign an executive order attacking birthright citizenship. While several judges have moved to block the order, Trumps anti-immigrant push is continuingfrom allowing immigration officials to conduct arrests at schools and places of worship to training local law officers to interrogate and detain immigrants in their custody. However, Deirdre Schifeling, chief policy and advocacy officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), points out that local government resistance as well as individuals fighting back against anti-immigrant policies are showing results. Were seeing this in Chicago, where Trump is suing the government for not helping enough, she says. Here are five ways to fight anti-immigration policies: 1. Contact government officials, particularly local ones Politicians are moved by public opinion. Apply pressure by continually calling and emailing your representatives. The most effective way to change immigration policy is to contact members of Congress and express your opposition to anti-immigrant policies, Oleg Nekritin, an attorney at the Law Offices of Robert J. DeGroot, said via email. And dont neglect local officials. Schifeling points out that cities and states cannot be forced to assist with mass deportation by the federal government. While they cant obstruct the federal government, they can choose not to help. Schifeling recommends asking local leaders to pass sanctuary city or state laws, which means they wont use their resources to help the federal immigration authorities, as well as laws that prevent city data from being used to deport immigrants. She also recommends asking school boards to issue guidance to schools asking them not to track student immigration status and not to share it if they do have the status. 2. Educate yourself Learn whats going on in your community vis a vis the law. Schifeling recommends attending a Know Your Rights workshop so people can understand what their and their neighbors rights are if they’re faced with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. In addition, the more people who understand the law, the more people there are who can educate others in their community, as well as bear witness when ICE raids happen and try to help prevent unlawful actions. For example, if ICE doesnt have a warrant, you dont have to let them in. Were hearing from the Trump administration that communities are very educated and this as a top obstacle for carrying out their mass deportations, Schifeling says. Its confirmation that know-your-rights outreach is working. 3. Donate While organizations such as the ACLU are looking to expand and appreciate donations, donating to local legal service organizations and immigrant advocacy groups can also be powerful. These smaller groups are on the frontlines in the fight to protect immigrants but often lack the resources of their larger counterparts. Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, notes that smaller organizations often struggle to get funding since they may not have brand-name recognition or even the ability to hire marketing teams. Yet often, it’s local organizations that best understand the needs of the immigrant community, says Sweet, “and can be the most responsive. In addition, consider donating to immigrant bond funds. Helping people bond out of immigration detention is going to be really important to give them a chance to find an attorney to represent them in their deportation cases, said Tara Tidwell Cullen, director of communications at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in an email. 4. Volunteer Volunteering can take many different forms. Schifeling at the ACLU recommends getting trained in Know Your Rights, so if a raid happens in the community, volunteers can show up and distribute Know Your Rights cards printed in multiple languages. Organizations may also need volunteers to help people fill out citizenship paperwork or register to vote. Small organizations often also need professional skills since they dont have the budget to retain large staffs. Legal service organizations depend on volunteer attorneys, while in general, nonprofits need expertise with fundraising, finance, marketing, and website management. Check with your local organizations to see which of your skills might be a good fit. 5. Verify information before you share it Last, but not least, in your desire to help, make sure you’re not inadvertently spreading misinformation. Immigrant communities are already living in fear. If you have information, make sure its coming from a credible source before sharing it. Were hearing so many rumors flying around, sometimes from folks who want to be helpful,” Sweet says. “But when someone says, ‘ICE is here and they are going to take action in this community,’ its really scaring people who are already scared.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) surged over 10% on Tuesday on the news that rivals Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are in talks to divide the ailing American chipmaker’s business into two parts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fast Company reached out to Intel for comment but a spokesperson didn’t immediately return our request. Once the largest semiconductor company in the world, Intel is now struggling to turn around its business after the chip-manufacturing giants shares lost 59.60% last year due, in part, to missing out on the generative artificial intelligence boom. According to the Journal report, Broadcom is interested in Intel’s chip-design and marketing business, if it finds someone to partner with Intels manufacturing business. TSMC signaled interest in investing in and studying Intels chip plants, potentially as one of several investors. The two companies are in separate, preliminary talks with Intel. Shares in TSMC (NYSE:TSM) were down more than 1% at the time of this writing in midday trading, while Broadcom stock (NASDAQ:AVGO) was down about 3%, after both fell substantially on the market’s open. Splitting up Intel would have been unthinkable in its heyday when it dominated the processing business, but the split is in line with recent industry trends toward either manufacturing or designing chips. And Intel has had quite a fall from grace. In November, after 25 years, the company lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia. News of the talks comes after the Trump administration signaled it would safeguard American chip technologies at Frances AI Action Summit in Paris about a week ago, and the White House has been involved with aspects of the talks between Intel and TSMC over Intel’s factories, according to the Journal.
Category:
E-Commerce
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