Trump Attacks On GMU Equity Policies Assault On Public Education: NAACP

FAIRFAX, VA — NAACP representatives and DEI advocates called recent investigations by the Trump Administration and U.S. Department of Justice into alleged racial discrimination at George Mason University an attack on public education.

The comments came Thursday during a news conference outside the Fairfax County Courthouse.

The Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation in early July, looking into the hiring practices at GMU, expanding a national campaign against diversity policies to Virginia’s largest public university, according to the Associated Press.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice notified the GMU Board of Visitors that it had launched Title VI investigations alleging racial discrimination in admissions, scholarships and student benefits and the university’s response to antisemitism on campus.

Cozy Bailey, president of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, told Patch on Thursday that these actions are a clear and present danger, as well as an assault on public education.

“Diversity in all aspects has been the strength of George Mason, which makes it so great, which has contributed to its being the largest by population public university in the Commonwealth,” Bailey said. "It is obvious to us that an effort to diminish that diversity, to fight against that diversity, is only an effort to narrow the focus and scope of how education is actually presented to the students, and again, attempt at the university level to remake the American society into one that is focused on conservatism, as opposed to an expansion and acceptance of all ideas.”

Bailey rejected the claims that diversity initiatives prevented some students from being accepted at GMU and the state’s other public universities.

“Not everyone is accepted into every university or college that they apply to,” he said. “There are a variety of things that go into that acceptance based upon the needs of the student, based upon the needs of the university. So, an assertion that diversity concepts are, in fact, discriminatory is ludicrous.”

draw attention to a lawsuit filed by State Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth on behalf of the Virginia Senate. ...

The location of Thursday's press conference was chosen to draw attention to a lawsuit filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court by State Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) on behalf of the Virginia Senate. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m on Friday.

The lawsuit contends that Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, circumvented the Virginia General Assembly in making appointments to the boards of visitors of several state universities, including GMU. The state legislature has exclusive authority to confirm or refuse confirmation of gubernatorial appointments to university boards of visitors, according to the lawsuit.

“Youngkin has now appointed all 16 visitors to our board, and they seek to bend the institution to their political will,” said Bethany Letiecq a GMU professor and president of the school’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. “While other governors have appointed people who care about Mason and higher education, people on the left, people on the right, Youngkin has appointed political, idealized operatives who serve him, who serve their own interests, their own business interests, not the people’s interests, not Mason's interests. These board members hold extreme views. They are anti-diversity.”

Also See …

• 2 VA Colleges Could Face Antisemitism Penalties: Trump Administration
• George Mason University faces investigation in Trump administration’s anti-DEI crackdown
• For LGBTQ+ Students George Mason University ‘Best Of The Best'
• GMU Enrollment Reaches 40,000 Students, A Record For VA

Dr. Gregory Washington, GMU’s first Black president, has become a target of the Trump administration, saying that he failed to completely dismantle the school’s DEI policies and reverse claims of reverse racism in hiring practices, which Lateef said were untrue.

“This is all pretext to justify President Washington's ouster so the board can undo all the gains we have made under our DEI commitments," she said.

Over his five-year tenure, Washington has championed GMU’s DEI policies, celebrating the fact that the school is routinely included among the country’s most diverse campuses.

“When President Washington joined the campus, he had to confront multiple crises, COVID, financial crisis, and the racial reckoning, following the more the murder of George Floyd,” Lateef said. “But drawing on our collective commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, he challenged all of us to advance justice while achieving inclusive excellence in five years. And I think we all agree he is a proven leader.”

Fairfax City Mayor Catherine Read attended Thursday’s news conference to show support for Washington and GMU.

“The things he has done that have benefited the growth and success of the university have also benefited the growth and success of the City of Fairfax,” she said “We have partnerships, like with the Costello School of Business. We work with the Virginia Climate Center. We have interns on our city staff. This is not something separate from the things that matter to me, both as an alumni and as a local elected city official.”

The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.