Quinnipiac University’s Student Government Association hosted a “Your Voice, Your Impact” event April 21, allowing students to question university administrators about the impact of recent federal actions on the student body. 

Panelists available for the discussion included President Judy Olian, Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett, Provost Debra Liebowitz, Associate Dean Kevin Barry and Professor William Jellison. The event was intended to provide students with clarity about what to expect from Quinnipiac in response to the new federal administration’s actions, SGA’s Vice President Kaitlyn Sternhardt wrote in a statement to The Chronicle.

Topics discussed included the impact of federal funding, the university’s stance on DEI and its plan regarding recent immigration policies.

The roughly two-hour event began with a talk by Kevin Barry, associate dean for student success and professor of law at Quinnipiac. He provided students with a foundational understanding of the power the president holds and explained that executive orders are essentially the president telling his agencies to do things that are consistent with his policy goals.

After Barry introduced the problems at hand, students were given a few minutes to converse amongst themselves in small groups and generate questions. Immediately after, the Q&A portion with the panel of administrators took place. 

The panel was first asked when Quinnipiac will send out a formal message acknowledging recent events and showing support for students. In response, Olian explained that Quinnipiac has chosen not to make a “huge pronouncement” to avoid becoming a target. 

“We really don’t want anyone to feel any more vulnerable now than they did before,” Olian said. “We have chosen not to make huge pronouncements because we want to focus on our purpose, and that is continuing the support for inclusion for every member of our community … and we don’t want to become a target.” 

She went on to say how this position might change in the future, but stressed that her job as a leader is to protect the institution and its members from possible intrusions that may make life more difficult. 

“I see where she is coming from,” Sofia DeStefano, a first-year biomedical science major who participated in the event said. “To some extent, I do agree with her because I think sometimes making a statement is much more dangerous than not making a statement at all … However, we are a private institution, so we do have more leeway.”

As a private institution, the university generally faces less control from the federal government than public institutions do. Panel members explained later that Quinnipiac is not in danger of losing large amounts of federal funding because the university had such little to begin with. 

“So our research grants, where we have about 5 million dollars of federal funds, most of that, all but a million, flows through the state,” Liebowitz said. “So we don’t think we are particularly vulnerable, and we would be able to navigate whatever came.” 

Ellett assured students that Quinnipiac was “ahead of the game” with FAFSA, but added that changes to the Department of Education are an area of concern for all colleges and universities as of late. 

In regard to ICE raids on campus and the safety of students, Ellett explained that administrators will follow the judgment of Othoniel Reyes, the chief of public safety.  

“I know I was pretty generic in my response, but that is somewhat intentional,” Ellett said. “We are following the law, but we will do what we need to do to support our students.”

Talks of ICE raids were brief, while discussions of DEI initiatives took up a large portion of the event. All those who spoke emphasized that DEI is not going away at the university. Liebowitz discussed how the second pillar of Quinnipiac’s strategic plan is about inclusive excellence. She said that this part of the education is fundamental to the success of students and the institution.

“There is an incredible amount of lack of clarity about where these things are going to go,”  Liebowitz said. “But, the reality is, from our perspective, that there is nothing that can change our understanding of why inclusive excellence is a core principle of the institution, so we don’t anticipate altering that.” 

Jellison explained that many people only consider the policies involved with DEI, not the philosophy involved in it. He said, for many teachers, including himself, that it is impossible to teach what they teach without incorporating diversity, thinking about inclusion, and discussing equity.

Students were assured by the panel that the Quinnipiac University Poll will not be affected by federal actions because it is a completely independent operation. Olian explained that it will continue to serve its purpose of informing the public, wholly supported by Quinnipiac. 

Additionally, Liebowitz explained that there shouldn’t be any impact on students currently studying abroad or planning to in the future. She said that the safety of students abroad is constantly being evaluated, but she doesn’t expect any change as a result of the federal government. 

The discussion concluded with statements from some of the panelists on the importance of community and finding people to support you. Ellett discussed areas on campus where students can go to find support, such as the Office of Inclusive Excellence, while Liebowitz spoke on the importance of being able to disagree with one another respectfully. 

The discussion helped to answer many students’ questions regarding the state of our campus today, but left some confusion about what is to come.

“We have to act institutionally,” Olian said. “There will be, horribly so, a point in which we have to say ‘no’… Now, do I want to get to where Harvard got? No, because that is going to mean that said institution and everyone in it is embroiled in an existential crisis … So yeah, we are making somewhat of a pragmatic choice, but we also have a policy that says when we think we need to speak or not, and we haven’t reached that point yet.”