Eat better, improve your relationships, manage a budget. If you’ve ever talked about New Year’s resolutions, chances are, you’ve either heard or given one of these answers yourself. Some may see them as repetitive — even performative. It can sometimes feel like we pick the same things over and over — what feels easy, what looks right, what sounds good.
Much like how people do their New Year’s resolutions, universities talk over and over about diversity, representation, community, inclusion, leadership and discovery. Aspects vague enough to sound appealing, but still not well-defined — thus, universities can change the meaning at any time if they so please.
And you, Northeastern University, are no exception.
In January 2025, you took “diversity, equity and inclusion” and vacuum-sealed it into a bag labeled “belonging,” an attempt to dodge attacks from the Trump administration — without adequate communication. Nearly a year later, your students still stand here without seeing any improvements. In fact, I firmly believe it’s gotten worse — and I have my doubts that we’ll be seeing true progress anytime soon.
It wasn’t just the DEI office you took from us, either. You directed faculty to stop all DEIA-related research, a direct contradiction of your so-called “deep commitment to research success.” Multiple Office of Belonging employees have left their positions without any explanation, and I fear it’s not a reach to believe they were fired. “We don’t comment on personnel matters” is not an answer, it’s avoidance. Silence isn’t a good look on you, Northeastern.
To add insult to injury, several faculty members that are part of this “Office of Belonging” have declined to comment, or redirected The Huntington News to your media team. Some even claimed to not be affiliated at all, despite being listed on the website.
This shoddy replacement isn’t even half of what it claims to be. It’s a shame that this institution — which tens of thousands of us trust with our education and future careers — has left us trapped in the space between genuine love for our school and the need to hold it accountable. We’re hearing the same answers over and over — and why is that? Well, they’re easy for you to give. They look right enough without seeming too “wrong.” They sound… not good, but fine. Neutral.
Northeastern, your students don’t want neutrality. We want you to follow through with the promises you made when we applied.
This year, I’ll be focusing on committing myself to the values I believe in. I greatly admire those who take accountability, communicate well and stay true to their word. Unfortunately, these three don’t seem to be something you’re so interested in anymore when it comes down to the wire.
I’m not unhappy at Northeastern by any means. The last thing I want to do is leave. But at the same time, I — and many others — feel abandoned. How can we focus on appreciating the resources you give us when we can clearly see you’ve lost your spine? When you fail to communicate with your students and no longer work on bridging the gaps between administration, educator and pupil, where does that leave us?
It’s not an impossible task, either — other universities have continued to protect their students. MIT rejected Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, holding strong to its mission of service alongside the other universities who turned the “offer” down. Harvard continues its attempts in resisting Trump’s attacks, despite facing funding cuts and other roadblocks. Northeastern, you can help us — but you don’t.
I speak to everyone, individuals and institutions alike, when I say we must resolve to improve our awareness in the upcoming year. I am not the first to say the past half-decade has not been easy for any of us. We have been separated by walls and united by tragedies; we had our lives ripped to shreds and were then forced to figure out how to put it all back together. However, I worry that all the time we spent apart destroyed the meaning of community, and with it, how to support each other and those you’ve promised to serve.
A new year is upon us. You have the chance to start it off with your head held high and the knowledge that your values are in the right place — in the best interest of your students, not in the best interest of your pockets. Your students have faced a year of watching you work in silence, trying to slip everything behind our backs in the hope we wouldn’t notice, instead of standing up for us like you promised to do when we applied. Frankly, I find it insulting — getting accepted to this university is not an easy feat, and we are far more intelligent than you seem to think we are.
Northeastern, this is my third letter to you addressing the handling of these matters. I wrote to you in January about the impact the shift could have on students, then again in August about your shameful silence. Not only that, but I am far from the only voice speaking out. It’s not just your students, but more than 430 members of your faculty as well.
You have brilliant minds at your fingertips who are willing to stand up and fight with you. We know you hear us. We know you see us. We know you understand us.
This year, we’re not just asking you to do better — we need you to do better.
Antaine Anhalt is a second-year communication studies major and columnist for The News. He can be reached at [email protected].
If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email [email protected] with your idea.
