Left without answers, Coastal’s student body doubts the university’s morals after the lack of communication concerning Executive Order 14151.
Since the passing of President Trump’s executive order “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” there has been little communication about what altercations are being made in response.
A specific concern was the recent closure of the Intercultural and Inclusion Student Services Office (IISS), which the university only explained a month after it had been pointed out by the Social Justice Club.
Mariel Pagán Smith, interim vice president for student affairs and assistant vice president for student engagement, acknowledged an attack on the work of specific offices. The recently closed IISS office was one of concern.
The IISS office was referred to as the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office by many, however Smith explained it had nothing to do with DEI.
“It’s been put into these categories of DEI, and we never called it the DEI office. We weren’t saying that that’s what it was, and yet students would refer to it that way,” Pagán Smith said.
According to an email titled “Resources from the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” sent from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in 2022, the IISS office was one of three in this Division. The only office that remains open is Accessibility and Disabilities Services.
Pagán Smith said the conversation concerning the closure of the IISS office had been ongoing for years because of this negative characterization of DEI. Yet, this conversation became realistic following the executive order and the discussion of state laws in the South Carolina State Legislature.
“There has been fear in people who do this work across the country and one of the things that we as a university didn’t want is for our people, our staff and our students to be fearful,” Pagán Smith said.
