On Feb. 18, President Donald Trump called for schools and universities across the United States to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or risk losing federal money if they do not comply within a 14-day time frame.
This would drastically impact the Greek Life landscape at Wichita State. Of the campus’ 25 chapters, 13 fall under Cultural Greek and National Pan-Hellenic Councils.
That time is rapidly approaching, and the result of Trump’s reign could be locally devastating.
CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling Angel Pérez said in an article with the Associated Press that “colleges and universities are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place” resulting from the proposed cuts.
Could you imagine if more than 50% of an organization faced cuts? This would derail its entire operation and force them to either conduct major layoffs or face other financial problems.
At WSU, DEI programs provide vital resources to countless students. According to an article by political news source The Hill, Black fraternities and sororities and culturally based chapters could possibly face adverse effects of said cuts.
Over time at a university, the proposed cuts could mean fewer and fewer students are accepted into the university and memberships of that chapter would diminish.
This could mean the chapters have to disband.
When students decide to join these chapters, they go into it with a sense of security and comfort to express themselves, their ideas and promote the chapter’s mission. If they’re forced out, this would completely erase decades worth of progress.
The chapters at Wichita State do great things around the community.
In conjunction with the Wichita Public Library, Wichita State’s chapter of Omega Psi Phi installed a StoryWalk, an interactive activity that combines reading with physical activity, an event I can attest to as a volunteer.
Wichita State’s Sigma Lambda Beta chapter volunteered at voter registration tables last October.
All eight of the NPHC chapters hold a study hall for all students to join every other Wednesday.
Sigma Psi Zeta participated in an event last November where they created cards for hospitalized children.
Multiple other chapters host events to promote the customs, traditions and food of their cultures.
For a campus such as Wichita State — whose student population was nearly 50% people of color as of 2023 — being able to share this diversity is paramount. It’s things like these that make CGC and NPHC chapters great for campus.
A cut to these chapters would mean a cut to the community.
