There are several American institutions who have forever ruined their reputation by folding to the Trump Administration. This past July, Columbia University, for example, agreed to pay a $200 million settlement to the federal government to reinstate their federal research funding. Additionally, they agreed to overhaul their DEI initiatives and Middle Eastern studies curriculum.
Countless big law firms, including Simpson Thacher, Kirkland & Ellis, and A & O Shearman, have provided about $1 billion worth of pro-bono legal services to Trump. Media companies, including Paramount and Meta, have paid millions to the president in relation to defamation or censorship lawsuits.
These institutions are wealthy and powerful. They did not need to fold to the demands of this administration. They fully chose to do so, and that pivotal choice will never be forgotten by the American public that trusted them to do the right thing, even under pressure.
Boston College, on the other hand, has not made national headlines. No, we folded in a much more subtle way. The Heights reported on Friday that BC rebranded their Office of Institutional Diversity and renamed their DEI web pages. There was no announcement, just a subtle language change on our website.
In fact, they removed the text that promised to, “focus on fair treatment and a sense of belonging for all individuals in the Boston College community.” Last weekend, ICE officers parked in front of BC’s campus and the Catholic parish, St. Ignatius. Despite calls from students and faculty alike, University leadership remained silent.
BC has played it safe in every way possible.
We didn’t make national headlines. We could have. And we probably should.
Instead of cowering, Georgetown Law School crafted a groundbreaking model for resisting the Trump administration. They rightly claimed that abolishing diversity programs would be against their religious beliefs as Christians. Catholic Social Teaching and doctrine clearly outlines the call to include diverse perspectives and align with minority populations.
Their model reflects the fact that Jesus Christ stood with the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, the marginalized, the ill, the disabled, and the untouchables. Christian institutions are accountable to God before they are accountable to Trump.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression explains that not only do these demands of abolishing DEI threaten academic freedom, they rest on shaky constitutional backing. Under the First Amendment, DEI policies are within the prerogative of universities, especially private ones, to establish.
At a time when ICE is knocking down the doors of Boston, BC remains silent. The administration has not issued any formal ICE response. Students have no way of knowing whether or not the University will stand up for them.
I understand that we do not want to turn into the next Columbia. And the administration is thinking strategically. But before you are University presidents and board members, you are Christians. There is another being we answer to. And if I were them, I would be more worried about the sin that is silence.