In July, the University entered a voluntary resolution with the Trump Administration to settle civil-rights investigations and restore federal funding. With over $500 million in contracts and grants at stake, we supported this settlement, viewing it as an effective balance between maintaining the University’s autonomy, protecting students from discrimination and ensuring that Brown would not be cut off from the federal funding that it relies on.
Last week, Brown’s Office of Residential Life announced that the leaders of program and themed community houses would no longer be able to select their own residents. The stated reason for this change — which has drawn condemnation from the house leaders — was to ensure that all students have “equitable access” to these communities. The timing and justification of this announcement, however, suggest that the agreement has begun affecting key aspects of student life. While the University made commitments to the government it must honor, we expect administrators to be transparent about how Brown’s response to federal actions is affecting students to help build trust between affinity groups and administrators.
We believe it’s no coincidence that this upset to program housing selection procedures comes just four months after Brown signed the July agreement, which prohibits “unlawful” diversity, equity and inclusion goals. The University’s sudden prioritization of providing “equitable access” to affinity-based housing options indicates a direct effort to comply with the settlement. Yet in a statement to The Herald, University Spokesperson Brian Clark said this change has “nothing to do” with Brown’s compromise with the Trump administration — but the similarity between the language of Residential Life’s announcement and that of the deal raises eyebrows.
Section 14 of the settlement requires that the University eliminate any “benefits or advantages to individuals on the basis of protected characteristics” such as race, ethnicity, national origin, sex and gender. Residential Life stated that the University has “taken steps to ensure there is a clear, shared understanding that all students must have equitable access to programs” and that “race, ethnicity or national origin cannot be eligibility criteria for participation.” The policy attempts to remove the indirect consideration of “protected characteristics” from the program housing selection process by transitioning from a system where housing leaders choose their participants to a random lottery.
But by denying the connection between recent changes to housing and the agreement, Brown creates a divide between the University’s decision-makers and those affected by such decisions. Even if this change is truly unrelated to the Trump administration, Brown should give its full rationale and explain what has changed between now and last year. If it fails to do so, it will continue to undermine trust and create anger towards the University. It’s no secret that the deal was signed. We as students deserve to know how it could be affecting us.
On Wednesday, three program houses — North House, Harambee House and Technology House — announced that they were “in conversations” with Residential Life and that they found the administration open to negotiation. In these discussions, the University ought to be transparent about its policy constraints from this summer’s deal in order to negotiate in good faith and avoid further confusion. Honesty about legal limitations will make it easier for Brown and program house leaders to reach an amicable solution that both honors their independence and the University’s commitments. We hope the University will provide this clarity and not deflect further.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board, and its views are separate from those of The Herald’s newsroom and the 135th Editorial Board, which leads the paper. A majority of the editorial page board voted in favor of this piece. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
