HANOVER — Amid a federal investigation into the Geisel School of Medicine for racial discrimination in its admissions practices, some Dartmouth community members are speaking out against a narrative that people of color are favored for academic opportunities.
“How come we have funding to launch these ridiculous investigations and then meanwhile the funding is slashed for programs that actually produce meaningful trainees?” PhD student Sam Liu said Thursday in the Remsen Medical Sciences building.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against consideration of race in college admissions, commonly referred to as affirmative action, citing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs.
The U.S Department of Education launched an investigation into Geisel at Dartmouth, along with four other medical schools, following an executive order from about a year ago calling for more admissions data in higher education and remedial action for those who fail to provide the required information.
Geisel welcomes 96 students per class of the approximately 8,400 completed applications received, according to its admissions page.
In a statement, Dartmouth spokeswoman Jana Barnello said that the school is confident in it’s admissions process and will respond to the request for information “in due course, consistent with applicable law.”
Liu, treasurer of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science– which provides members with professional development resources– said she was not surprised by the news but still disappointed that the Trump administration has decided to waste time and resources on investigating the school “rather than invest in research and the talented students doing it,” she said.
While the investigation has only recently launched, she feels compounding harm has already been done with a pullback of programs that promote increased participation in STEM under the belief that they discriminate against white and Asian people.
One fourth-year medical student at Geisel saw his admissions process as routine, with nothing suggesting those of a certain background would be favored over others. Charlie Maguire doesn’t recall what demographic questions were asked but believes they were optional, adding that he noticed nothing regarding race or a focus on race.
“I feel like this investigation serves to discredit the idea that medicine and politics can be separated,” Maguire said.
A second-year undergraduate student interested in joining Geisel, Simrah Bawa, said that the year she applied is when Dartmouth stopped asking demographic questions, but that they provided an opportunity to include information about one’s background the essay portion.
For the class of 2031, Dartmouth has a prompt that asks applicants to “Describe the environment in which you were raised and the impact it has had on the person you are today.”
A prior executive order in January of last year pointed to diversity, equity and inclusion programs in academic and professional spheres as in violation of Title VI. As a result, several schools, including Dartmouth, revamped their programs to ensure compliance.
Evelynn Ellis served as vice president of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion ahead of her 2020 retirement. The office provided educational resources for all employees at Dartmouth to mitigate challenges.
Ellis feels that schools backing away from diversity training for employees harms the student experience. College years are particularly formative and those surrounding students impact their belief system.
“If they leave our institutions and they have not had what I call a global experience, meaning exposure to people of all cultures, we have failed them,” said Ellis.
Ellis noted that focused outreach is essential, especially in times of political turmoil. Dartmouth has a responsibility to encourage those in underrepresented communities to apply for opportunities and let them know what specific support the college offers, she said.
Geisel’s Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement office runs programs geared toward increasing inclusion and offers a network of support for those who have not felt welcome in this field, Liu said.
“The stress across the board is already enough, but if you’re having to deal with additional factors that some individuals, because of identities may not have experienced,” she said.
Liu feels that racial preferences exist in higher academia and the problem is not unique to Dartmouth. Specifically, she sees less diverse populations in higher positions, which can be disheartening as a trainee.
Isobel Bowles, a a postdoctoral student at Geisel, worries how the investigation will impact diversity in schools, which she believes is an asset at Dartmouth.
The benefit of a diverse academic setting is that everyone comes with different perspectives and asks different questions based on their life experiences, Bowles said. Historically, research questions pertaining to women’s health were simply not asked due to exclusion of women in the field, she pointed out.
Bowles feels cutting back on diversity due to fear of retaliation would have adverse impacts across the board. “They don’t want to be made an example of by not complying, but if they do comply, I think the long term implications are much worse,” she said. “I would hope that they stand strong to the values of Dartmouth.”
PhD student in neuroscience Yeonglong Ay said Geisle has always been a small community and a supportive environment. In his time, Ay has not encountered any negative situations.
Based on his observations, Ay’s integrative neuroscience program of about 30 people is largely Caucasian, with only a handful of international students and people of color.
Ellis expressed a similar sentiment that while the orders may have come from a belief that people of color are taking opportunities away from white people, the demographics say otherwise.
“Being a person who’s lived on academic campuses my entire professional career, I look around and I say ‘But where are those people of color that have taken the jobs?’,” she said.
