An annual Lunar New Year lunch celebration was canceled this week at Michigan State University.
The announcement was made in an email from the University’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to students in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The DEI office explained it was in response to concerns raised by students regarding the Trump administration’s recent targeting of DEI policies.
“This decision comes in response to concerns shared by members of our community regarding the current issuance of Executive Orders related to immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the office's director, Lauren Gaines, wrote in an email obtained by Bridge Michigan. “These actions have prompted feelings of uncertainty and hesitation about gathering for events that highlight cultural traditions and communities. We feel it is important to honor those concerns with sensitivity and care.”
In his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order with the goal of “ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.” In his order, he said that DEI policies “undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”
The executive order also threatens investigations to deter universities with endowments of more than $1 billion from implementing DEI "programs or principles." MSU’s endowment is more than $4 billion.
Heidi Hennink-Kaminski, dean of MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences, sent an email to the college's faculty, staff, and students encouraging them to see the decision "not as a statement of policy, but rather as an appropriate on-the-ground response given a very short decision window and input from students who voiced concerns about gathering for this cultural celebration."
“Even in this time of uncertainty and concern, please have confidence that we will continue to move forward initiatives that celebrate our differences as well as recognize the core values that unite us, including treating each member of our community with dignity and respect.”
While the lunch was cancelled, the dean's office said other Lunar New Year celebrations will continue as planned throughout the weekend, including a carillon recital and a Lunar New Year celebration concert.
