The “Dear Colleague Letter” issued by the U.S. Department of Education in February expressed a threat that schools that support diversity initiatives could face funding cuts. With several cultural houses on campus, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign could be among the targets to lose funding. In an extensive examination, Illinois Public Media quotes both Dean Jamelle Sharpe and Professor Arden Rowell on how the letter may affect the Illinois campus and the levels of uncertainty that exist currently. “The Department is taking a very aggressive and expansive view of the Supreme Court’s decision,” Sharpe said. “They believe it should be applied to situations that the Supreme Court’s decision itself did not address.”
