In accordance with Emory University’s decision to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, the Emory Writing Center (EWC) removed all DEI language and programming from its website on Sept. 4, echoing a broader national trend. Currently, academic institutions across the country are reevaluating their commitments to DEI amid federal opposition to these programs.
The EWC is a free service for a majority of Emory students as well as staff and faculty, offering guidance and support to writers. Until the beginning of this school year, its website and hiring page included DEI-focused statements. Now, those statements are gone, including a statement about the EWC’s commitment to anti-racism, equity and inclusion.
According to the EWC Director and Associate Teaching Professor Melissa Yang, concerns first arose regarding the EWC’s hiring practices in January 2025 when U.S. President Donald Trump took office and began issuing statements and executive orders in opposition to DEI. According to Yang, when the EWC hired staffers, it traditionally prioritized candidates who had experience with topics including anti-racism, equity and justice, which now, the University worries may not align with government policies.
Yang said that in a University deans meeting she attended in May 2025, the EWC’s website was flagged as “risky,” which led to changes in the equity statement.
“It was the day after the announcement went out that the DEI offices were dismantled, that I received another call to say we also had to take down the equity statement,” Yang said.
Regarding how these changes have affected the center, Yang expressed her frustration about the new censorship.
“We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of language and empowering students through being able to guide them to feel empowered in their language use and their use of free expression,” Yang said. “It’s demoralizing that we are being censored while we’re trying to do this work.”
Business Librarian Saira Raza, who formerly served as the co-chair of Emory Libraries’ DEI committee, said the impact of scaling back on DEI initiatives may be harmful for students, especially those who may have viewed the EWC as a source of community.
“When you are a person of color or a person from another country who’s visiting here and you’re going to get help outside of class, a lot of times it is very comforting and it can be such a huge difference to be helped by somebody who can relate to your experience, and even sometimes they just have those nuggets of information to give you that you just wouldn’t get elsewhere,” Raza said.
For some on campus, the removal of the EWC’s DEI statements felt symbolic of a larger transformation on campus.
Oxford College Library Head of Teaching Paige Crowl (17C), who served as Raza’s co-chair on the DEI committee, spoke of her disappointment in the institution’s dismissal of diversity-focused initiatives.
“Emory has capitulated in a large way because they’re scared of the risks of standing up for some of these things,” Crowl said.
Crowl said she hopes that students still believe they can fight for these core principles of DEI, despite the University’s scaling back of support for DEI.
“I wish the administration would realize that a lot of students are feeling a sense of fear and despair right now, because it feels like this institution that a lot of us have placed our trust in is not willing to plant that flag and stand up for them and what they believe in and what they care about,” Crowl said.
Editor-in-Chief Spencer Friedland (26C) contributed to reporting.
