A faculty member from American University in Washington, D.C. recently went on a tirade against President Donald Trump’s anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) actions, claiming they benefit “straight white Christian men.”
Melissa Hahn, an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University’s School of International Service, made her comments in a Feb. 9 post on LinkedIn.
“This administration isn’t just shifting attention and funds towards its own priorities. It is presenting straight white Christian men as the norm and making the recognition of any other identity controversial and taboo,” Hahn wrote.
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She continued: “We see this in the federal government’s scrubbing of public data, banning of affinity groups, disappearance of websites, dismantling of exhibits, covering of murals, establishing of snitch hotlines, firing of those who attended diversity training in the past, and deleting of pronouns in email signatures – all while elevating those of highly dubious ‘merit’ to key leadership roles.”
She further expressed her worry that “many institutions will comply in advance” with Trump’s DEI bans.
Hahn’s comments come after several of Trump’s executive orders targeting DEI.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” eliminating DEI initiatives across federal agencies. A day later on Jan. 21, Trump issued another order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which orders the Department of Labor to stop supporting “Federal contractors and subcontractors” who promote DEI and affirmative action.
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The Trump administration has framed the new policies as necessary steps to eliminate racial discrimination and ensure equal opportunity regardless of identity group affiliations.
“It is the policy of the United States to protect the civil rights of all Americans and to promote individual initiative, excellence, and hard work,” Trump stated in the Jan. 21 executive order.
Hahn told Campus Reform that she has no “additional comments” beyond what she already posted online.
Campus Reform has reached out to American University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
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