Trump anti-DEI executive orders prompt Phoenix college to cancel LGBT film fest
A community college in Phoenix has canceled an LGBT film festival due to President Trump’s executive order restricting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Paradise Valley Community College will discontinue its 'Desperado LGBTQ+ Film Festival.'
A community college in Phoenix has canceled an LGBT film festival due to President Trump’s executive orders restricting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Paradise Valley Community College has hosted the Desperado LGBTQ+ Film Festival, organized by the Desperado Film Club, a student organization, for 16 years. However, the public college announced on its website that it has canceled the next iteration of the festival, formerly scheduled for January 2026.
The message cites President Trump’s January anti-DEI executive orders, which includes Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, as the primary cause for the decision.
“We are writing with profound regret to inform you that the 17th annual Desperado LGBTQ+ Film Festival has been canceled,” the announcement says. “This decision comes in direct response to recent presidential executive orders impacting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts at public institutions, including our community college district.”
President Trump’s order threatens to remove federal funding from institutions that do not cease promoting DEI.
“As a publicly funded institution, we must comply with these orders,” the college’s message continues. “Failure to do so would jeopardize the district’s federal funding, including student financial aid and grants that support over 300 positions across our campuses. The loss of such funding would create a ripple effect, significantly affecting students, faculty, staff, the community, and the educational services we provide.”
This past January’s festival featured showings of films like Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot and Animal Pride: Nature’s Coming Out Story.
The community college still expresses hope that it can host the film festival in the future.
“While we are heartbroken to pause this year’s event, we hope this is not a farewell but a momentary pause,” the school writes. “We look forward to the possibility of resuming the festival when conditions allow.”
The anti-DEI executive orders have had wide-ranging effects in higher education. Butler University suspended a course requirement for “Social Justice and Diversity” on July 24, in part because of the orders.
Similarly, Middle Tennessee State University eliminated its DEI offices on July 23 to comply such directives from the administration. It also announced it would no longer provide financial support for “affinity groups or programs that focus on characteristics that fall within the referenced DEI mandates.”
Campus Reform contacted Paradise Valley Community College for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
