On January 20, 2025, only two hours into his presidency, President Donald J. Trump released Executive Order 14151, directing federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, related positions and policies to be eliminated within 60 days. This was followed by Executive Order 14173 with plans to end DEI programs, policies and activities beyond the federal government. It was during this tumultuous time for DEI that Lick Wilmerding High School’s Director of DEI, Dee Johnson, left, leaving many community members confused and worried.
At Lick-Wilmerding, DEI has always been central to the mission, but with Trump rolling out executive orders against DEI, many wondered how LWHS would navigate this new climate, while sticking to its values and mission.
Trump’s attacks have undercut the opportunities of DEI on many fronts. Following the initial Executive Order, The Veteran Affairs Department closed their DEI offices, the Environmental Protection Agency put nearly 200 civil rights office employees on paid leave and Trump fired many military leaders who were in support of DEI. Additionally, many companies that previously showed alliance to DEI values with pride—including Walmart, Google and McDonalds—are now implementing changes in line with Trump’s policies and directives.
More recently, Trump has been attacking academia, with over 50 universities under investigation for their implementation of DEI policies—among them, Cornell, Duke, NYU and Yale. In the face of these attacks, however, some universities are taking a stance. Despite having renamed their DEI office to “Office of Community and Campus Life” on April 28, 2025, Harvard University announced their decision to sue the Trump administration for interfering with university affairs, citing an “invasion of freedoms.” Just five days later, the Trump administration responded by cutting $18 billion from Harvard’s research grants funding, effective until further notice.
Despite these threats on a national level, private schools that do not receive federal funding, like LWHS, currently remain protected. As of right now, present attacks on DEI will not directly affect the institution, but the loss of DEI programs, values and culture nationally still can.
Although fear was already present, the sudden departure of Johnson on February 28, 2025, amidst national turbulence for DEI, raised many questions about LWHS’s commitment to our mission. These wonderings and concerns catalyzed a student-led walk out on March 4, 2025. The walk-out included demands for “Institutionalized protections for DEl and Ethnic Studies through an official teacher board,” and that Head of School Raj Mundra provide “3 actionable steps by March 10 that will increase transparency, communication and connection with the LWHS community.”
Soon after, at the LWHS Teach-In on March 14, Mundra led a workshop called “Our Mission Meeting the DEI Moment” in response to the current political climate and the walk-out. “I wanted to have a discussion on how DEI is connected to our mission,” Mundra said. “I really wanted the students participating in the workshop to dissect our mission…I was interested to hear ideas about [LWHS’s] approaches [to DEI] .”
This workshop included students from all grades, aiming to use a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to dissect LWHS’s mission statement.
photo courtesy of Yaretzi Cedillo ’26
“I thought it was informative. I liked how we were able to share our ideas, and the discussion was interesting” Ivana Moreno ’26 said, “I’m not sure how it will actually lead to change, but it was nice to feel heard.”
DEI is integral to LWHS because, although it is a predominantly white institution (PWI), its mission is to bring in community members from many different backgrounds and identities. The school aims to do that in many ways, with hopes to include more civil discourse and integration of DEI in multiple fields of study. One of the most notable ways is the planned implementation of an Ethnic Studies graduation requirement.
In 2020, an Ethnic Studies Working Group was formed, consisting of faculty members and students. Their goal was to help BIPOC students at LWHS feel more supported, particularly amidst the upheaval of the Black Lives Matter movement’s George Floyd protests.
This group worked to implement an Ethnic Studies elective class, ultimately taught by Yanni Velasquez ’15.
“Ethnic Studies for me is both a framework and a toolkit,” said Velasquez. “It’s a matter of centering [marginalized] voices, but not necessarily saying these are the only voices that are welcome…in this institution, which we know is a predominantly white institution, it’s really important because Ethnic Studies as a class also creates additional space, probably space that currently doesn’t exist in abundance,” he said.
As of right now, Ethnic Studies is offered to juniors and seniors as an elective class. Despite ensuing plans to make it a graduation requirement, it remains an optional elective course until further notice.
LWHS is set on keeping its values. While it is currently illegal for institutions receiving federal funding to practice DEI, Mundra states a firm DEI commitment at LWHS. “We’re not doing anything illegal. We don’t have inequitable practices and we are inclusive,” Mundra said. “I think we should be very proud and stand tall for what we believe around DEI…our mission is our North Star.”
The current political climate of the U.S. is complex with unforeseen challenges to come, but in the current moment, students have found hope in LWHS’s continuous commitment to their values and mission.
wanted the students participating in the workshop to dissect our mission…I was interested to hear ideas about our [LWHS’s] approaches [to DEI] ”.
This workshop included students from all grades, aiming to use a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to dissect LWHS’s mission statement. “I thought it was informative. I liked how we were able to share our ideas, and the discussion was interesting” Ivana Moreno ’26 said, “I’m not sure how it will actually lead to change, but it was nice to feel heard.”.
DEI is so integral to LWHS because, although it is a predominantly white institution (PWI), its mission is to bring community members from many different backgrounds and identities. The school aims to do that in many ways, with hopes to include more civil discourse and integration of DEI in multiple fields of study. One of the most notable ways the school aims to highlight this is through the creation of Ethnic Studies.
Even though Ethnic Studies began as an English Seminar in 2021, it was a student
working group in 2022, with the assistance of four faculty members, that helped make the Ethnic Studies into a class taught by Yanni Velasquez ’15 Their goal was to help BIPOC students at LWHS feel more supported, especially with the effects of the BLM movement’s George Floyd protests during 2020 still being felt.
“Ethnic studies for me is both a framework and a toolkit,” said Velasquez. “It’s a matter of centuring [marginalized] voices, but not necessarily saying these are the only voices that are welcome”.“In this institution, which we know is a predominantly white institution, it’s really important because ethnic studies as a class also creates additional space, probably space that currently doesn’t exist in abundance,” he said.
As of right now, Ethnic Studies is currently offered to juniors and seniors as an elective class. Despite ensuing plans to make it a graduation requirement, it remains an optional elective course until further notice.
LWHS is set on keeping its values. While it is currently illegal for institutions receiving federal funding to practice DEI, Mundra states a firm DEI commitment at LWHS. “We’re not doing anything illegal. We don’t have inequitable practices and we are inclusive,” Mundra said. “I think we should be very proud and stand tall for what we believe around DEI…our mission is our North Star.”
The current political climate of the U.S. is complex with unforeseen challenges to come, but in the current moment, students have found hope in LWHS’s continuous commitment to their values and mission.
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