5 times social justice failed on college campuses in 2025

After four years of Joe Biden’s presidency, campus leftism has taken a major hit from both the state and federal level. Backlash to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was especially notable in the past year as various state legislatures elected to restrict DEI-based teaching and practices from public institutions. 

Here are 5 times social justice failed on college campuses:

1. Swarthmore permanently revokes SJP chapter’s affiliation after repeated violations

Swarthmore College decided in September that its chapter of Students for Justice Palestine (SJP) would lose its official campus organization status after a series of controversies over the past few years. The pro-Palestine group held multiple campus encampments following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, including one during Passover in 2024 that the school warned could exacerbate college anti-Semitism. An external review of the SJP chapter found numerous violations of campus policies, including those on bullying, harassment, disorderly conduct, and discrimination.

2. Butler University suspends social justice course mandate amid legal pressure

In July, Butler University announced it was suspending a Social Justice and Diversity course mandate due to “evolving legal guidance.” While courses that satisfied the mandate still continue to be offered, students are no longer required to enroll in such classes under the core curriculum. Introduced in 2020, the mandate forced students to enroll in DEI-based courses like “Queering Film” and “Intersections of Identity.” Butler’s move came in response to one of President Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders, as well as from letters sent by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita who expressed concerns over such DEI programming.

3. Towson University to end standalone DEI plan, denies federal pressure

Maryland’s Towson University informed its campus community in December that it would be discontinuing the DEI-based Strategic Plan in order to “reduce perceived risks.” An overview of the initiative on the university’s website specifically states that “diversity, equity and inclusion [is] at the core of our mission.” When asked about the role of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI efforts in ending the program, a university official responded that the institution “no longer felt the necessity to continue with the diversity strategic plan.”

4. University of Kansas bans pronouns from email signatures under new DEI rollback

The University of Kansas announced a variety of campus policy directives in July to comply with the state’s new anti-DEI legal provisions, including the move to pull “gender identifying pronouns or gender ideology” from public employee emails. In previous years, the practice of displaying one’s preferred pronouns gained popularity among LGBT community supporters. At this time, the Kansas Board of Regents also called upon state universities to terminate DEI-based programs, positions, trainings, grants, and activities.

5. UNC to discontinue ‘Health Equity and Social Justice’ concentration in graduate program

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Public Health announced the end of its Health Equity and Social Justice concentration in April as a result of low program enrollment figures. A web page for the concentration states that students are equipped with the skills “to eliminate health inequities and advance social justice.” Those admitted to the Master of Public Health (MPH) program in the fall of 2025 will serve as the last enrolled cohort in the concentration. An online petition calling on the school to reinstate the program has since been launched, and demands that the university reverse its “dangerous precedent.”