Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the spring 2025 print edition of The Daily Campus.

SMU students fear for the presence of affinity groups like the Association of Black Students (ABS) and the League of United Latin American Students (LULAC) across campus following one of the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

It was the order Trump signed on Jan. 20th that dismantled all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs nationwide, including those on university campuses like SMU. DEI programs are present within many realms of SMU’s campus, from resources provided by affinity groups to certain scholarships, putting them at the mercy of this executive order.

The Hispanic or Latino Association (HOLA) said it is especially worried. HOLA provides students with resources to learn more about Hispanic and Latino cultures and also prioritizes creating a community for SMU students to feel safe around their peers, said Jessiah Ruiz, president of HOLA.

“We offer a space for people,” Ruiz said. “We’re home for a lot of people. I know people that have said they would not have stayed at SMU if it were not for not only my organization, but other organizations—ASA, ABS, CSA, Asian Council. I think that that’s one thing that people don’t see, is the spaces that this creates and the people that these spaces empower.”

A feeling of home is another aspect that DEI programs create on college campuses. Suvwe Kokoricha, a member of the Association of Black Students (ABS), the African Student Association (ASA), and SMU Fro (The Natural Hair Network) said without these groups, students could lose the unique opportunities they provide.

“I think that we provide a service to the university that classes can’t provide because an authentic cultural experience through the ability to immerse yourself in African, Latino, Chinese or any other type of culture is something that only students can provide,” Kokoricha said. “So I think that we are an important part of the kinds of education that liberal arts should try to promote.”

Kokoricha also said the implications of dismantling DEI programs could have long-term implications on SMU’s retention rate for some students.

“Being able to feel like you’re at home is very important for students who are of historically marginalized backgrounds,” Kokoricha said.

Another student who is also part of ASA and ABS, Faith Bombito, said she fears the possible implications associated with the executive order. As the director of DEI on Student Senate, she also says it’s inexpedient.

“Honestly, it did make me upset. I thought that it was a very counterproductive measure that will cause more harm than it will benefit, and I think it was done out of a place of not understanding the actual reality of students of color on predominantly white campuses,” Bombito said. “All I can do is hope and pray it won’t affect student organizations in terms of having it be removed or preventing us from doing the events we normally do. We’ve been in a pretty tough, frustrating spot, but we’re just trying to protect what we can.”

Student Senate is dedicated to ensuring the continuance of a diverse senate chamber by encouraging students of all backgrounds to participate, Bombito said.

“We don’t really know how to move quite yet but something that I think in Student Senate we’re trying to prioritize is just making sure that every student feels like they can go for a position on Student Senate,” Bombito said. “Encouraging minority groups to apply for Dedman senator, Cox senator, chair positions, just making sure that no one feels like they’re excluded from anything and that it’s available to them.”

The executive order specifically states that all programs related to DEI will be terminated with the explicit goal of dismantling DEI nationwide.

“The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), assisted by the Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), shall coordinate the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear,” the executive order reads.

In a statement released to the SMU community, President R. Gerald Turner addressed the executive order asking students, faculty, and staff to have patience as the university learns more about the “fluid situation.”

“I understand that some may feel uncertain about how these changes could affect your experience here on the Hilltop and beyond,” Turner said in a statement emailed on Jan. 29. “What remains true is our identity as a caring, respectful community devoted to making a positive impact.”

Despite all student organizations having a non-discriminatory clause built into their constitutions, the executive order refers to such kinds of organizations as “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.” Student Senate President Michael Castle said he is confused about how the executive order would apply to SMU.

“While they are predominantly certain diversity groups or certain groups on campus, it doesn’t mean that they’re not open to everybody on campus,” Castle said. “Which means it would be very difficult to say, ‘Just because this group is specifically celebrating a certain culture or diversity or specific group, they’re not only closed off those organizations, to those groups of people.’”

In the meantime, Castle says SMU is functioning as ‘normal’ until additional information is provided on how to proceed.

“So far, the university still is awaiting guidance and clarification on the new executive orders, so they haven’t made any specific decisions about the future of operations, program services and they don’t plan to until they’re told to do so,” Castle said.

Amid confusion and worry, Bombito is confidently determined to end the semester on a high note while in the presence of the DEI organizations that have grown to shape the university she calls home.

“We have to make sure we’re being inclusive no matter how politically charged that term has become, so that’s the job that I’m dedicated to,” Bombito said. “I’m graduating in May but I kind of want to go out with a bang. I want to go down fighting, you know?”

A representative from the International Student Association declined to comment.

The Daily Campus reached out to Chief Cultural Intelligence Officer and Senior Advisor to the President at SMU Maria Dixon Hall, Ph.D. and. Director of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement Jennifer Jones, Ed.D. but received no comment.

With reporting by Melanie Jackson.