Binghamton University’s Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies hosted a teach-in on Monday about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. The event sought to discuss and support the University’s commitment to the program while addressing common misconceptions.

Organized as part of a final project for a course, WGSS 282F: Activism, Feminism and Social Justice, the event allowed students to share their experiences with DEI programs. They also presented data from a survey showing that a majority of students support DEI initiatives at the University. Students from SHADES, the Q Center, ColorStack and the Disabled Student Union also spoke at the event.

“This University has done a better job than others in its effort to realize DEI policies and practices,” wrote Dara Silberstein, the director of the women, gender and sexuality studies program. “However, there is room for improvement. For instance, there could be more outreach and educational programming as demonstrated by students who responded that they were unclear what DEI was.”

Organizers highlighted how DEI initiatives encompass a variety of University programs and resources, like Services for Students with Disabilities, the University Counseling Center, the Multicultural Resource Center and the Q Center. Commitment to DEI also inspired campus support services like the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center and the Consultation, Advocacy, Referral and Education team, the University’s case management office.

DEI initiatives now face greater scrutiny under the Trump administration, which has accused these programs of violating civil rights. On Jan. 21, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” aimed at ending DEI programs in the federal government and urging the private sector to follow suit.

The order also required the attorney general and secretary of education to send guidance on complying with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-based affirmative action in admissions to colleges and universities that receive federal funding. In April, the Department of Education sent letters to state education agencies requiring them to eliminate all DEI programs that “advantage one’s race over another” or face a loss in federal funding.

A University spokesperson did not return a request for comment.

One of the presentations addressed common misconceptions about DEI programs, like that they only benefit minorities, promote reverse discrimination and threaten meritocracy. The presentation argued that these programs are not intended to discriminate against any group, but rather to “level the playing field and remove structural obstacles” and ensure all people have an “equal opportunity to succeed.”

Mansha Rahman, the president of the Rainbow Pride Union and a junior double-majoring in art and design and Spanish, said DEI “comes in very little ways, shapes and forms” that people may not initially realize.

“A lot of people don’t recognize that the accessibility buttons are a form of DEI,” they said. “A lot of people don’t recognize that tampons and pads being provided for people who menstruate is DEI. A lot of people don’t realize that talking about the fact that we have all these different majors, WGSS, LACAS, all these different things are a form of DEI.”

Other representatives shared how their organizations contribute to DEI efforts on campus by creating inclusive spaces and spreading awareness across the University. Some of these spaces include the Disabled Student Union, which promotes campus accessibility and education, the Q Center, which advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and SHADES, which fosters community for queer people of color.

“In an ideal world, DEI would transform the make up of our work and school environments in such a way that as a society we come to reimagine such terms as ‘skilled labor’ and ‘high achievers’ which today often reflect characteristics most closely associated with the privileges of white masculinity,” Silberstein wrote. “DEI policies should not only be about a process of ‘inclusion’ (which to me begs the questions of who is doing the inclusion and to what?) but about transformation.”