As a result of declining funds and unsteady support from the state, the University of Wisconsin System is increasing tuition at several campuses, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This comes as a surprise after the UW System’s commitment to a tuition freeze for nearly the past ten years.

While students throughout the state continue to reel from the tuition increases from the past school and prepare for that of the next one, minority students and students of color are especially harmed by the UW System’s decision.

The state’s declining financial support for the UW System is rooted in its opposition to the universities’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Created to support minority students in their academic and professional endeavors, DEI programs are crucial to help students from underrepresented backgrounds feel less isolated on campus.

For instance, the UW–Madison Center for Educational Opportunity provides academic support, a peer mentoring network and other resources for first-generation, low-income and students with disabilities. Such programs promote educational equity and ensure minority students feel comfortable while pursuing their higher education. But the state continues to attack these vital programs, primarily by withholding $32 million from the UW System until DEI programs are defunded.

This is especially concerning considering a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that finds nearly 50% of Black students at UW–Madison were considering leaving the university — a rate three times higher than that for white students.

Moreover, a 2020 DEI report from UW–Madison found that minority undergraduates graduate at a rate nearly 10% below that of their white counterparts. These statistics alone point to an irrefutable need for programs that welcome and support students from historically underrepresented backgrounds on campus. After all, how are minority students expected to feel a sense of belonging in a high-stress academic environment without a community of individuals who look like themselves or are from similar backgrounds?

If DEI programs continue to be shot down by Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature, we can only expect these horrifying statistics to rise, proving the UW System to be an inaccessible and unwelcoming place for minority students.

But this isn’t the only attack minority students are facing from the state. Last year, Republican Speaker Robin Vos proposed a plan to remove existing scholarship programs intended to support students from underrepresented backgrounds with tuition costs.

A report by the American Council on Education found that well over 50% of Native American, Black and Hispanic undergraduate students were low-income, while only about 33% of white undergraduates were classified as so. 

It is evident that minority students are likely to be under financial strain, potentially preventing them from being able to invest in college tuition. Vos’s claims that scholarship programs created to support minority students are “discriminatory” are completely unfounded and absurd. If the Speaker truly aimed to eliminate racial discrimination, he surely would not be knocking down the very programs meant to promote equity in higher education.

Republicans in the state, like Vos, have turned their backs on students of color, creating devastating consequences for not only students who are already underrepresented in higher education, but also entire minority communities.

The state’s continual attack on DEI programs will likely feed into further tension and hostility towards people of color in the world of higher education. In times like these, it is more important than ever that the university emphasizes its dedication to educational equity. In some ways, the university has been successful in doing so. For instance, just last December, UW–Madison created a program to cover the full cost of attendance for Native American students.

But the UW System’s grueling battle with the Legislature has also contributed to some damage. According to The Hill, the university system decided to realign 43 DEI positions and cut a program promoting workplace diversity in exchange for funding from the Legislature. While it is unavoidable that some compromise will have to be made to satisfy a stubborn Legislative team, the university must be careful about which DEI programs are to be conceded.

The university has made its intentions regarding DEI clear, leaving the ball in the Legislature’s court. Republicans must recognize the vast disparities that exist in higher education and reevaluate their ghastly demands. It is time a decision is made with students of color and educational equity in mind.