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Q&A
Potential impact of federal policies on CUNY's equity programs
1:18:15
ยท
136 sec
Council Member Dinowitz raises concerns about how federal anti-DEI policies might affect CUNY's equity-focused programs. CUNY officials respond by emphasizing their commitment to their mission and compliance with state and city laws.
- CUNY has programs like the Black Male Initiative and the Persella Sutton Seek program at City College
- Officials state it's difficult to predict impacts without clear guidance or changes to laws
- CUNY is 'leaning into their mission' while ensuring compliance with state and city laws
- All CUNY programs, including the Black Male Initiative, are stated to be accessible to all students
Eric Dinowitz
1:18:15
We we have a number of policies coming out for the federal government that are impacting all facets of life including our colleges.
1:18:26
And CUNY has various programs dedicated to increasing access to higher education such as blackmail initiative and the Persella Sutton Seek program at City College.
1:18:40
The federal government may deem these as DEI programs, and they've somehow turned that into a dirty word or a dirty phrase, but these are critical programs in ensuring equity in our city and our college system.
1:18:54
And have you projected any are there any concerns, or are these programs at risk of being eliminated or reduced due to the current federal administration's anti DEI, anti equity stance?
Alicia Alvero
1:19:10
I think without clarity and guidance or any changes to laws, that is a difficult question to answer.
Eric Dinowitz
1:19:17
Are you anticipating is the college anticipating or preparing for any executive orders that deal with this?
1:19:28
And if so, in what manner?
Hector Batista
1:19:30
I I think, councilman, it's safe to say that what we what we we're really doing is as these executive orders come in, two things we're doing.
1:19:39
Number one, we're leaning into our mission.
1:19:41
Right?
1:19:41
We're we we are a university of 28% of our students are students that color or 26% are Latinos.
1:19:50
And so we're leaning into our mission.
1:19:52
But second, we're also making sure that we're not over panicking and overreacting.
1:19:56
We're assessing to assure that.
1:19:58
And ultimately, we're guided by state and city laws.
1:20:02
So we're leaning into the into those laws and making sure that as as these mandates come in, that we're we're they're not in conflict with state and city law.
1:20:12
And and and we're looking at them very closely.
Alicia Alvero
1:20:15
I wanna elaborate and just say that all of our programs, including black male initiative, are accessible to all students.
1:20:23
We do not have any exclusionary practices throughout CUNY.
1:20:26
It's all accessible to all students.
1:20:30
That is part of our mission.
Eric Dinowitz
1:20:32
Thank you.