HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University initially banned 49 diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI)-related words from its documents following a directive from the Trump administration, but later retracted the ban after legal consultation, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The university’s decision came in response to a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter from the U.S. Department of Education, which opposed DEI initiatives and threatened the loss of federal funding for non-compliance. High Point University distributed a list of banned terms, including ‘equality,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘white supremacy,’ to be removed from various university publications.
“That is a very Orwellian list of censored terms that should be concerning for anybody who cares about higher education,” said Kelly Benjamin, a spokesman for the American Association of University Professors.
After The News & Observer contacted High Point Provost Daniel Erb about the list, he sent an email to deans retracting the word ban. Erb stated that legal counsel clarified the priority should be on ensuring non-discrimination in program qualifications and requirements.
The initial list of banned words also included a prohibition on faculty providing pronoun preferences in email correspondence. University spokesman Alex Abrams mentioned that the university has had a policy limiting email signatures to basic information for at least a year.
The aggressive efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate DEI programming have drawn both praise and criticism. The AAUP and other groups recently won a preliminary injunction from a federal judge stopping parts of two Trump executive orders banning DEI efforts.
Erb explained that the federal letter left the university in a difficult position, as universities were given just 14 days to comply to maintain federal funding. He noted that the list of words was patterned after one used by the National Science Foundation, which also sought to comply with the directive.
High Point University’s retraction of the word ban highlights the complex challenges educational institutions face in navigating federal directives while maintaining their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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