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‘To basically comply with things that are not within our values … is something that we should not be doing,’ campus leader says

Higher education institutions must stand up for the “values” of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the face of the incoming Trump administration, the president of Mount Holyoke College said in a recent interview.

Speaking with New England Public Media, Danielle Holley said President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to restrict DEI may violate free speech rights, and higher education institutions should prepare to sue.

“To basically comply with things that are not within our values simply because we feel a threat of investigation is something that we should not be doing as the higher education community,” the college president said.

For the private Massachusetts women’s college, these “values” include admitting transgender students, she told the news outlet:

In the short term, Holley said Mount Holyoke is looking to support students who may be affected by the incoming administration’s hostile anti-diversity and LGBTQ policies. That could include offering gender affirming care to students who may no longer be able to access it in their home state.

Holley says some colleges and universities may try to appease the administration by scrubbing their websites of diversity language, but she said that makes no sense for a college like Mount Holyoke, which was one of the first women’s colleges to welcome trans students.

“As a women’s college, we value the inclusion of women and people who are marginalized on the basis of gender. We have to value things like reproductive rights, etc., because it goes to the heart of the health of our students and their well-being,” she said.

“So we have to just kind of buckle in and prepare for four years where we have a federal government that’s hostile to the core mission and values of Mount Holyoke,” Holley said.

Holley, the college’s first black president, said higher education institutions need to stand up and say “No!” to the Republican leader’s plans.

“Instead, we need to just say ‘No! Here’s what we stand for. We will continue to stand for this. And if you believe that you can legally challenge our mission or our values, that’s up to you to try to do,’” Holley said.

Her statement comes as a number of higher education institutions get rid of DEI programs and offices, many in response to state legislative actions.

A major West Coast higher education accreditor also is moving to delete references to diversity, equity and inclusion from its accreditation standards, The College Fix reported earlier this month.

On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to “fire the radical left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics.”

Meanwhile, a number of prominent conservative and libertarian groups are calling on the federal government to stop funding DEI efforts, which they say are “divisive” and “discriminatory.”

MORE: Far-left William & Mary coalition demands school ‘guarantee’ its rights — because Trump

IMAGE: Donald Trump/X

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