Smith College has begun to outline its plans for addressing executive orders and policy changes introduced by the new federal administration in a community webinar on Thursday, Feb. 6, along with a campus-wide email and the establishment of a community support page on Thursday, Feb. 13.
The Feb. 6 webinar discussed the college’s plans to approach issues such as academics, financial aid, research funding and campus safety. The Smith administration is tracking which new policy measures will impact the college. They have consulted with legal firms and increased their focus on government relations positions in light of directives and executive orders from President Trump.
“Federal directives are coming at a very rapid pace, and we anticipate that there will be even more changes on the horizon,” said Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton. “I plan to offer regularly scheduled community meetings over the course of this semester. But there will also be meetings and gatherings on particular topics between those whole community meetings.”
Smith is also creating coalitions and partnerships with other academic institutions to “exchange expertise and advice on how best to evaluate and respond to federal orders,” according to the Feb. 13 email. The administration reiterated their commitment to the academic freedom of faculty and protecting the well being of students.
Following the webinar, the Dean of the College, Alexandra Keller, sent out an email to all students with instructions on what to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officers come to campus. The instructions tell students to remain calm and professional, request identification and documentation, direct ICE agents to Campus Safety and/or the General Counsel, protect student and employee privacy and not to obstruct enforcement.
Recent Trump Administration directives that could affect higher education institutions include overturning a 13-year-old precedent preventing ICE officers from making arrests at schools, an executive order making it U.S. policy to recognize only two legal sexes, a ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in programs that receive federal money, including research grants and attacks on the Department of Education, which provides financial aid, including Pell Grants. While Smith is a private institution, it still receives federal funds in multiple ways, including financial aid and grants for researchers.
After the 2024 election, students expressed fear and concern over how a Trump administration could affect reproductive healthcare, civil rights and the climate crisis. In December, The Sophian reported on undocumented students feeling heightened fears for their safety and insufficient support from Smith’s administration. The Feb. 6 webinar, community support page and future meetings and information sessions that President Willie-LeBreton has promised are beginning to outline Smith’s response and how the college will support students over the next four years.
“Sophia Smith hoped to have the kind of education that was denied to the overwhelming majority of women during her lifetime. So, just weeks before she died, this college was forged in dissent,” said Willie-LeBreton at the end of the webinar.
“I had not anticipated the extent to which our very being would still constitute dissent in 2025, but here we are. I will defend this campus legally, physically and by working with each of you. Smith has survived and thrived for 150 years, and we will survive, move through this current moment and continue to thrive in our collective bravery.”
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