From the Newsstands: This article appeared in The Eagle’s December 2025 print edition which can be viewed here.
The Eagle’s editorial board is composed of its staff but does not represent every individual staffer’s views. Rather, it provides an insight into how The Eagle, as an editorially independent institution, responds to issues on campus.
In a time of increased scrutiny from the federal government and shifting national standards about diversity, equity and inclusion for higher education institutions, American University is being forced to reckon with a balance between its longstanding commitment to equity and its response to financial and political pressures. For many students and faculty, recent policy changes on campus signal that the University’s efforts to fly under the radar are coming at the expense of its most vulnerable communities.
Last month, the Trump administration issued a federal compact offering additional funding and support to universities that comply with a set of mandates. The compact encourages explicit protections for conservatives, while calling into question the very existence of protected affinity spaces or clubs with an identity-based mission.
AU has not signed the federal compact; however, the University’s administration has implemented changes that, while presented as steps toward student belonging, mirror parts of the compact.
The University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion was renamed the Center for Student Belonging in May. We find this change acceptable if it maintains the values that the University advertises and prides itself on, especially since the University lacks the resources to fight Trump.
More concerning is the renewed enforcement of longstanding rules stating that every campus club must admit all students who wish to join. The argument given is inclusivity, but the practical effect undermines safe spaces for vulnerable communities, makes club formation and management far more difficult and indirectly privileges conservative groups that face no tangible threat to their campus participation or speech rights.
The administration is acting defensively — making unilateral, vaguely explained decisions, seemingly in anticipation of external threats, and doing so at the cost of eroding its ethos as a changemaker.
Underlying this issue is AU’s financial vulnerability. The University does not have the vast endowments that some of the institutions targeted by the Trump administration have and is operating with a significant budget deficit, making the prospect of losing any federal support an existential threat.
We understand that this trust must be mutual, and that as students who have invested our time and money into the University, we benefit from its success. This is why the University must make a concerted effort to work with organizations like The Eagle and the Student Government to understand what students want and need.
In the battle between hiding and upholding its most cherished and advertised values, AU will be defined by how it reacts to this political moment and how it invests in both its students’ safety and their right to belong.
This piece was written by Quinn Volpe and edited by Alana Parker and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Emma Brown, Paige Caron, Arin Burrell and Andrew Kummeth. Fact-checking done by Aidan Crowe.
