Students crowded Centennial Mall to attend a protest on Friday, Feb. 28 for “Kentucky Day of DEI.” As guest speakers and protestors arrived, students had the opportunity to share their thoughts on current calls for the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Kentuckians for Higher Education paired with student organizations at public universities in Kentucky to prepare for “Kentucky Day of DEI.” According to the group’s Instagram, the event aimed to encourage students to come together to “say NO” to attacks on DEI programs.
According to TIME, DEI programs aim to improve and remove obstacles to things like higher education and employment for individuals from diverse backgrounds, races and genders.
The day President Donald Trump was inaugurated to start his second term, he signed an executive order. According to whitehouse.gov, the executive order eliminates federal DEI programs and policies, prioritizing merit-based hiring and performance reviews. It aims to reduce government spending on DEI initiatives.
Following that executive order, the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools. The letter shared how it will interpret the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and other laws and regulations that the Trump administration sees as related to diversity, equity or inclusion.
The letter built upon the 2023 Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard and stated that in recent years schools have discriminated against white and Asian students in several ways, going beyond the admissions decisions covered in that case.
Under the Trump administration, the letter says, the department will prohibit schools from considering race in how they carry out administrative support, housing, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of campus life.
Additionally, Kentucky House Bill four aims to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and initiatives at public universities. According to Kentucky General Assembly, the bill would also prevent institutions from offering benefits based on factors like race, sex or religion, putting scholarships in jeopardy. The bill has been passed by the House and is now being reviewed by the Senate.
Senior Ree Kirksey from Austin, Texas, said she attended the protest to make a difference. She said she enjoys protests because she likes seeing people standing in unison for what they believe in.
“I don’t think taking away DEI programs is right at all,” Kirksey said. “It affects my future children, my family and my friends.”
Kirksey said she believes people are made of their beliefs, and that’s what makes them who they are.
Josh Mullady, a dance instructor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, said that he attended the protest to stand up for his students.
“I have a number of students who feel threatened and scared for their rights being taken away,” Mullady said.
Mullady said he is from Iowa, where what he called a “shitty” transgender law was just passed. The law ended civil rights protection for transgender people. He said he is hopeful that nothing similar will happen in Kentucky.
“I want to fight for my students’ rights and make sure they know that they’re still human beings,” Mullady said. “I want to let them know that they are safe with us.”
During the protest, Mullady joined others in carrying around a piece of paper with a QR code attached. He said attendees could scan it to be directed to a sign-in collecting the number of attendees. The QR code also served as a way for people to get updates about future DEI events.
Counter-protestor junior Gabriel Chambers from Louisville also made an appearance at the protest. Chambers said he attended with his Trump flags to support the president and his executive orders.
“We need to take this opportunity to cleanse society of DEI policies as well as gender ideology,” Chambers said.
Chambers said he supports Trump’s executive order and that DEI policies should be eliminated.
“I believe the people here today are promoting forces of society that go against race and sex ethics,” Chambers said. “Whatever the Republicans want done, we will get done.”
Chambers said that while he was protesting, someone walked by and threw coffee at him because he was holding two Trump flags.
“I just find it interesting that just because you don’t agree with someone, you throw things at them,” Chambers said.
Sophomore Ashton Evans from Bowling Green said he attended the protest to let everyone know they are not invisible.
Evans said that to him, the protest means not turning away from people who have different cultures, races, genders or sexualities from others.
“The world is not small; it is large and has a lot of cultures and walks of life,” Evans said. “To act like the world doesn’t exist just to serve your own selfish money agenda is completely disabling to those included in DEI programs.”
Evans said that everyone should have the right to be themselves, no matter what they identify as.
“To me, the goal of this protest is to make sure everyone knows that they are not invisible,” Evans said. “I just hope that the goal was achieved.”