Brown University threatens student for exposing its DEI bureaucracy
A Brown University student was threatened with disciplinary action after publishing information about the university's spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The university accused the student of disseminating false information and violating its code of conduct.
School officials threatened retaliation after a Brown University student published information revealing how much money the institution spends on Diversity, Equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Sophomore Alex Shieh posted April 6 on X that he had received a letter from the Brown University administration alleging that he had disseminated “false information” on a website he had created online that tracks the extent of DEI at Brown.
.@BrownUniversity’s Russell Carey just threatened me with disciplinary action for saying DEI cost Brown $510M in federal funds, calling this claim “false.” Then the @WhiteHouse confirmed it.
Here’s their letter. You decide who looks ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/qLjnFMYPYt— Alex Shieh (@alexkshieh) April 6, 2025
“Meet the DEI bureaucrats who lost Brown University $510 million in federal funds,” the website in question, called Bloat@Brown, states. “AI flagged 49 Brown University employees potentially holding illegal DEI roles”
Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey at Brown wrote to Shieh on April 6 that it had “come to the University’s attention” that Shieh had played a “leading role in publishing and promoting” the website.
Carey called the information published by Shieh “false” and argued that Shieh had violated Brown’s code of conduct. Carey argued that because Brown has not “received any notification from the federal government of the loss of funding you have claimed,” the statements on the website are “false.”
“[Y]ou should remove all false statements from your website immediately, and any failure to do so will be subject to appropriate action to enforce the Code of Conduct,” Carey’s April 6 email concluded.
Despite Carey’s assertion that Brown’s federal money is not being stripped, The Daily Caller reported on April 3 that the Trump administration had planned to freeze $510 million in grants over the university’s anti-Semitism response and DEI practices.
The Trump administration has recently pulled funding from other Ivy League schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.
In a statement provided to Campus Reform, Brown University spokesperson Brian E. Clark said that Shieh had “improperly” used data accessed through a “University technology platform” in creating his website.
“The website appeared to utilize information and data which could only be obtained from non-public sources and systems,” Clark stated. “While we’ve seen many news reports frame this as a free speech issue, at the center of our review are questions focused on whether improper use of non-public Brown data and/or targeting of individual employees violated law or policy.”
Campus Reform contacted Brown University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
