Opinion | MSU must return what they took — and add more

On January 21, the Trump administration dropped its legal appeal of a federal court ruling that found its anti-DEI guidance unconstitutional.

The legal uncertainty that universities claimed justified their actions for the systemic dismantling of equity programs? Gone. The pending litigation they pointed to as requiring caution? Abandoned. The federal threat they used to justify cuts? Ruled unconstitutional.

Rema Vassar is a professor of educational leadership at Wayne State University and serves on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees. These views are her own. (Courtesy photo)

There is now zero legal justification—not even the pretense of pending litigation—for Michigan State University’s actions. Yet MSU continues operating as if the Trump administration’s unconstitutional orders carry force of law.

It’s time for MSU to reinstate everything it destroyed. And then do more.

The legal case is closed

US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher’s ruling was unambiguous: The Trump administration’s anti-DEI guidance “stifled teachers’ free speech, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished.”

When the Education Department dropped its appeal last month, Democracy Forward — representing the American Federation of Teachers — called it “a meaningful win for public education.”

MSU now stands exposed: Every decision to dismantle equity infrastructure was a choice, not a legal requirement. And that choice was made not just without legal justification, but in defiance of constitutional protections.

MSU began before Trump, continues after court victory

When Trump issued executive orders in January 2025, federal courts quickly blocked enforcement. However, MSU still stripped the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students (CORES) of its departmental organization status. CORES, established in 1990, lost its office space, direct advising and funding to support Black, Latinx, Native American and Asian American student organizations.

After courts ruled Trump’s orders unconstitutional in August, the university eliminated the position of vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion; scrubbed websites of “exclusionary” language; removed presidents’ statements supporting diversity; altered its strategic plan to delete equity commitments; and created a “Civil Rights Compliance” document that prohibits language like “increasing diversity” and references to “underrepresented” or “historically marginalized” groups — none of which has ever been legally banned.

MSU’s vice president for student affairs sent letters claiming “state and federal anti-discrimination laws” required these changes, without specifying which laws.

And when Trump abandoned his legal appeal in January, MSU remained silent.

The students MSU abandoned

While MSU dismantled support systems, the students who most needed them faced escalating violence. Anti-Black violence has plagued MSU for years: nooses in the school store and on a student’s door, racial slurs painted across campus buildings, persistent hateful language students encounter simply attending classes. The Black Students’ Alliance (BSA) challenged MSU’s claims that “Hate Doesn’t Have a Home Here” with its own campaign: “Hate Has a Home Here.”

BSA compiled student reports detailing harassment and discrimination, and presented documentation to institutional leaders.

MSU’s response? Decreased backing. CORES groups that once accessed $100,000 now compete for $4,500. Students received an ultimatum: Dilute organizational language to focus solely on celebration or lose campus recognition, including advisers and supporting structures.

MSU chose the moment when students faced documented racial violence to strip programs designed to address such crises, and students now navigate campus hostility with minimal institutional backing.

What MSU must do now

The Trump administration’s capitulation removes any remaining excuses. MSU must act immediately to reverse every decision made under the false pretense of legal compliance.

The university must issue a formal statement acknowledging that dismantling equity programs was a policy choice, not a legal requirement, and apologize to students who faced hostility during this time with reduced institutional backing.
MSU must restore CORES’ $100,000 annual allocation at minimum, and return CORES’ office space, direct advising and organizational infrastructure. Cultural organizations must be allowed to host their own events without administrative control. Given the year of abandonment, CORES deserves increased funding of $150,000 annually to account for unmet needs.
MSU must restore the position of vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the cabinet level with appropriate budget and authority.
MSU must eliminate false compliance requirements. It must rescind the “Civil Rights Compliance” document prohibiting language about diversity, underrepresentation and marginalized groups. In addition, presidential statements supporting diversity, strategic plan commitments to equity and all the content scrubbed from its website to avoid imaginary legal liability must be restored.
Finally, MSU must establish rapid response protocols that address racist incidents with transparency, accountability, and student input.

What Michigan leaders must demand

MSU receives taxpayer funding with the expectation it will serve all Michigan students. When the university makes policy decisions that harm some groups of students, then lies about legal requirements in order to avoid accountability, state leaders must intervene.

Ask MSU to publicly identify which laws required the changes it made and explain why it continued dismantling programs after courts ruled federal guidance unconstitutional Condition future funding on restoring equity programs and demonstrating how it will address documented racial harassment. Request that the MSU Board of Trustees explain why university administrators were allowed to dismantle programs using false legal justifications.

The larger implications

MSU is not alone. Universities across Michigan and the nation made similar decisions, citing the same false legal pressures. They now face the same question: Will you reverse course, or will you reveal that equity was always expendable?

For institutions that have demonstrated their priorities — political convenience over student welfare, institutional comfort over constitutional obligations — this moment demands more than restoration. It demands transformation.

Moving forward

The one-year anniversary of Trump’s executive orders arrives in days. Trump, however, gave up his legal fight.

The legal case is closed. The moral case was always clear. Now the question is simple: Will MSU choose courage, or will it continue choosing convenience?

The university has no excuses left. Michigan taxpayers deserve to know their institutions continue operating as if unconstitutional orders still apply.