University Council adopts Diversity and Equity Committee name change, discusses hate speech incidents

Penn’s University Council approved an amendment to its bylaws renaming its Committee on Diversity and Equity on Wednesday. 

The Dec. 3 motion — presented at an open forum in Houston Hall — renamed the body the “Committee on Community and Equal Opportunity” and marked the second round of public debate over a potential name change. An earlier proposal to adopt “Committee of Belonging” failed after students raised concerns.

Prior to the vote, Senior Vice President for Institutional Affairs Joann Mitchell outlined the context surrounding the name change, saying that “legal and legislative changes” prompted a review of committee names and standing charges across the University. 

She added that the Penn Office of General Counsel advised revisiting language that referenced “affirmative action” or other terms affected by recent federal guidance.

Faculty Senate Past Chair Eric Feldman emphasized that the new name was developed following feedback during the October University Council meeting.

Feldman said the Faculty Senate tri-chairs met with student leaders, the Office of the General Counsel, and administrators to “understand the legal constraints” and then worked with students to identify language that would remain compliant with the law while “preserving the core responsibilities” of the committee. 

A motion to call the question passed, and the amendment was approved by majority vote. 

Several student groups reiterated concerns about removing “diversity” and “equity” from the committee title. Representatives from the Latinx Coalition, Penn Association for Gender Equity, Penn for Immigrant Rights, Disabled Coalition, and UMOJA said that the proposed name still alters how the University presents its commitments to students from underrepresented groups. 

“It doesn’t feel right to me and my conscience, on behalf of my constituents, to vote yes,” College junior Victoria Navarrete-Ortiz — who previously served as the external affairs chair for the Latinx Coalition — said during the forum. “If the name is going to be changed regardless … then I don’t think it makes sense for us to vote in favor.”

College sophomore Kaison Wills — who serves as the political chair for Penn’s Association for Gender Equity — also spoke in opposition.

“The collaboration did not bring about the same meaning and purpose that the words ‘diversity,’ ‘equity’ and ‘inclusion’ hold,” Wills said. “Because our federal administration is attacking us for certain things, that doesn’t mean Penn needs to continuously back down from these challenges.”

Students also asked for clarification on the legal rationale behind the name adjustment. One representative asked whether the University was responding to “specific scrutiny” or federal action. 

Mitchell replied that the Office of General Counsel could discuss the issue in more depth, but that the University had been “reviewing committee names, policies, [and] procedures … on the advice of counsel” following the Trump administration’s crackdown diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.

College junior and Undergraduate Assembly Vice President Musab Chummun encouraged the Council to consider how the vote related to the body’s procedural responsibilities. 

“I think a vote towards yes really proves that this body can be one of change, and it can be one that moves towards goals that we each find are meaningful to the broader community at Penn,” Chummun said. 

The Council meeting also included the provost’s report, during which Provost John Jackson Jr. introduced Vice Provost of the Arts Timothy Rommen — who provided updates on the University-wide arts strategy and ongoing construction projects. 

These included Stuart Weitzman Hall and the forthcoming Platt Student Performing Arts Center, expected to open winter 2027. 

During the open forum portion of the meeting, community members voiced concerns regarding COVID-19 mitigation and condemned the University’s July 1 settlement with the Department of Education regarding Title IX, which required that Penn strike the records of 2022 College graduate and transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. 

College sophomore Lauren Watts raised concerns about campus climate following a video that circulated in October in which two students appeared to express racist remarks and racial slurs. 

Watts also mentioned another incident where a “Black female student at Penn was violently and physically assaulted by a white male student at an off-campus event,” citing an UMOJA statement about the situation.

Toward the end of the meeting, Wharton junior and Undergraduate Assembly President Nia Matthews addressed the recent increase in local youth gathering near 40th and Walnut streets. 

Matthews urged the University to respond with long-term community investment rather than heightened policing. 

“Given how much Penn benefits from the surrounding community — its land, its labor, its culture, and its history — I hope the University sees this not as a disruption, but as an opportunity to give back,” she said.

Matthews added that online discussions about the children had often been “racially coded or outright racist,” and called on students to “speak about West Philadelphia residents with respect, empathy, and awareness of the inequities that shape their lives.”

---

---