DEI programs are tools for student development, not political fodder

States across the country are seeking to eliminate public education funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and research in campaigns led by politicians who openly devalue and criticize DEI work as part of a “woke” agenda .

But for more than a decade, Lisa Tsuchitani and Eunice Kwon have run DEI programs and taught courses at UC Berkeley that support Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students. And they say they’ll continue striving for an inclusive campus climate.