The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to federally funded educational institutions, including Cornell, ordering the widespread elimination of “racial preferences” and otherwise race-conscious decisions in areas including admissions, hiring and institutional programming. If schools fail to comply with the Friday, Feb. 14 letter within two weeks, they may be subject to investigation and the loss of federal funding, according to an ED press release.
The letter sent by Craig Trainor, the ED’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, cites the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), which determined that race-conscious admissions decisions were unlawful, ruling affirmative action admissions programs unconstitutional. However, according to Trainor, the Supreme Court’s holding “applies more broadly.”
In his letter to federally funded institutions, Trainor wrote that federal law prohibits the use of race in decisions of “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”
This development has potential implications for academics, student organizations and administrative actions at Cornell.
“Although some programs may appear neutral on their face, a closer look reveals that they are, in fact, motivated by racial considerations,” Trainor wrote in the letter.
At Cornell, there are numerous courses focused on studying race including in the history, art and government departments. Additionally, many race and ethnicity-based affinity groups also receive funding from Cornell through the Student Activities Funding Commission.
This announcement comes after some other educational institutions have made changes to various race-based programs. The United States Military Academy at West Point disbanded 12 student affinity groups, while North Carolina’s public universities no longer require students to take classes related to diversity, equity and inclusion and the University of Akron stopped an annual forum on race. These changes follow a Trump Administration executive order which called for investigations into the DEI programs of universities with endowments exceeding $1 billion — which includes Cornell.
A University spokesperson wrote that “University leadership is reviewing the letter and evaluating its potential impact.” The University ultimately declined to share more after requesting an extended deadline to add to its response.
Trainor’s letter also mentioned DEI policies, noting them among programs that “discriminate in less direct, but equally insidious, ways.” Trainor wrote that DEI programs make specific racial groups “bear unique moral burdens” and stated that they are part of the “overt and covert racial discrimination” the ED hopes to root out. At time of publication, Cornell continues to maintain a Diversity and Inclusion webpage.
Trainor criticized the higher-education system as a whole.
“Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices,” Trainor wrote.
The letter states that the ED plans to “take appropriate measures to assess compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations" beginning Feb. 28.
Benjamin Leynse is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a News Editor for the 143rd editorial board, and a former senior writer. He can be reached at bleynse@cornellsun.com.
