08/06/2025
Piranas Jeyanathan, a history and politics alumnus of Northeastern University London, knew that diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies in the United States were changing. What he didn’t expect was that his university in the United Kingdom would follow suit.
The title of the university’s DEI website was changed to “Belonging at Northeastern London” as recently as March 16, according to Internet Archive results. And in a March 19 newsletter sent to students and faculty, NU London referred to its annual “DEI Report” as the “Belonging Report.” Yet, the term “DEI” continued to appear on the Northeastern London website in subheadings about data on staff and students and the campus’ official DEI policy until July. Now, those subheadings use “Belonging” instead of “DEI,” although the “Belonging Data for Staff” subheading links to a page entitled, “DEI Data Staff.”
“It was just a leadership decision without any consultation, which obviously students are frustrated about,” Jeyanathan said of the change to “Belonging” language.
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/46LAHe6
Story by Frances Klemm and Tendayi Lamothe
Photos courtesy Ahana Sinha and Emma Mazintas
Graphic by Daniel Patchen
