In a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion are being actively threatened by federal directives and legal rulings, we feel a responsibility to speak clearly about what we value — and what we will not abandon.

We believe that science is strongest when it reflects the full richness of human experience.  We believe that research spaces must be welcoming to people of all identities, backgrounds, and lived realities.  We believe that the study of gender, race, identity, and health is not peripheral to science — it is essential to truth, to justice, and to discovery.

On April 12, 2025, a federal appeals court lifted a block on executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI efforts. Institutions like Harvard are already being told to eliminate diversity programs or risk losing federal funding. These actions threaten not just equity, but academic freedom, student safety, and the very future of public research.

For many students — especially those from historically excluded or marginalized backgrounds — the rollback of DEI efforts threatens more than policy. It threatens the sense of safety, voice, and belonging that allows them to thrive in scientific communities.

The Forsyth Lab at William & Mary will not comply with efforts to erase inclusion from science.  We remain committed to a research environment rooted in equity, dignity, and truth.  We stand with our students, our colleagues, and our communities — across disciplines and identities — who are resisting these unjust directives.

We know there is risk in speaking. But we believe the greater risk lies in staying silent.