Valentine’s Day is often a celebration of love in its many forms—romantic, familial, and platonic. But today, I find myself reflecting on another profound kind of love: the love that drives justice, the love that fuels the fight for equity, and the love that demands we create a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
At its core, equity work is an act of love—not the soft, sentimental kind, but the bold, transformative love that disrupts systems, challenges power, and insists on dignity for all. This kind of love is what keeps educators, advocates, and policymakers pushing forward, despite resistance, political attacks, and systemic barriers. It is a love that refuses to accept disparities as inevitable and instead envisions a future where education is a tool for liberation, not oppression.
Love and the Fight for Educational Justice
Over the past few years, we’ve seen an aggressive pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in education. Across the country, the Trump administration and state lawmakers are stripping funding from programs designed to uplift marginalized students, restricting discussions of race and history in classrooms, and undermining policies that support faculty and student diversity. But if love is about commitment, then this is a moment that requires us to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to justice.
At Western Michigan University, during the past two years, we proved that intentional, equity-centered leadership can yield transformative results:
- Black/African American first-year enrollment increased by 26.7% in Fall 2024—a direct result of targeted recruitment and student support initiatives.
- Latinx enrollment rose by 4.7% from Fall 2023 and 8.9% from Fall 2022, demonstrating that investments in access and retention make a tangible impact.
- The first-to-second-year retention rate reached an institutional record of 81.1%, including significant gains for Black and Latinx students, starting to close opportunity gaps that have persisted for decades.
- Graduation rates also set an all-time record, with the 6-year graduation rate for Black students increasing by 6.1 percentage points and the equity gap for underrepresented students shrinking by 4.6 percentage pointsover two years.
These results weren’t concidental. They were the product of strategic, theory-driven culture change—the kind of work that requires not just intellectual commitment, but the people across the university at the grassroots and their deep love for students and their futures.
Love is Action, Not Just Words
Love that exists only in rhetoric is meaningless. If we truly care about educational justice, we must ask ourselves:
- Are we using our platforms to advocate for real, structural change?
- Are we holding institutions accountable when they retreat from their DEI commitments?
- Are we creating policies that ensure minoritized students don’t just enter college, but graduate and succeed?
This Valentine’s Day, let’s redefine love as a radical commitment to justice. Let’s channel our energy into ensuring that every student—regardless of race, income, or background—has access to an education that affirms their identity, nurtures their potential, and opens doors to opportunity.
Because true love is not passive—it is active, urgent, and unapologetic in its pursuit of justice.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I so appreciate those who fight for equity, push for transformation, and believe that love—when wielded for justice—can change the world.
#EquityIsLove #JusticeIsLove #ValentinesDayReflection