Can College Prep Programs Survive Trump’s War on DEI?

By  Aaricka Washington, Word in Black

Programs that ensure underserved kids get to college could be in jeopardy due to the right-wing crusade against DEI.

Overview:

The Education Department has warned colleges that they will lose funding for any admissions programs that “favor one race over another.” The Trump administration has gone after several prestigious colleges for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

As a high school student from the Crenshaw District, a working-class Los Angeles neighborhood, Ziane Djenidi wasn’t sure about life after graduation. A child of immigrants, neither of his parents went to college, and Djenidi hadn’t decided if he would go, either.

Then, some school friends told him about the VIP Scholars Program, a University of California, Los Angeles initiative that prepares marginalized students for college. Through the program, Djenidi says, he got to visit the Westwood campus and talk with students of color, like him.

“That sort of opened my eyes to the importance of higher education,” he says.

Now a rising senior at UCLA, Djenidi is majoring in neuroscience and dreams of becoming a doctor. But the program that took him from South Central L.A. to the brink of medical school could potentially one day be in jeopardy due to President Donald Trump’s crusade against diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Programs Under Attack

The VIP Scholars program is among dozens of college-prep initiatives that could be under attack because they create pipelines from high school to higher education for disadvantaged students.

Centered on an executive order Trump signed banning DEI in January, Education Secretary Linda McMahon made it plain in a “Dear Colleague” sent in February that it is “impermissible for schools to have DEI programs that are intended to advantage one race over another.” Schools that don’t eliminate such programs, the letter states, could lose federal funds and grants. The White House has proposed to cut $163 billion from non-defense discretionary spending for the 2026 fiscal year. 

Department of Education initiatives that support low-income, first-generation, and disabled students, such as TRIO and GEAR UP, are at risk, despite having bipartisan support. If they are cut in the upcoming 2026 budget, fewer marginalized students would get the support and resources for college success. 

As one of the several colleges that have support programs for first-generation, low-income, and historically underrepresented students, UCLA could lose more than $1 billion in federal funding.

UCLA’s VIP Scholars program collaborates with 11 partner schools in the metro Los Angeles area. Jonli Tunstall, a 2005 UCLA graduate and the program’s director, worries about the future.

“Same Thing 20 Years Ago”

Tunstall, who has been a part of VIP Scholars since its inception, said that the program was UCLA’s response to Proposition 209, a ballot initiative that ended affirmative action in California public college admissions. She said attacks on programs that help underrepresented students prepare for college are nothing new: “It was that same thing 20 years ago when this program started,” she says.

VIP Scholars Program staff learned the program would pause starting on June 30 because of university-wide budget cuts, but Tunstall says student and faculty fundraising will keep the doors open for two more months.

Read more on Can College Prep Programs Survive Trump’s War on DEI?

Check out our many digital exhibits.

Or check out our Breaking News section to learn more about Black News and Issues.