A crackdown on diversity programs is reshaping college graduation ceremonies

PHOENIX (AP) — As a first-generation college student, Austin Kissinger was looking forward to celebrating graduation with others of similar backgrounds who helped each other find their way at the University of Kentucky. Typically, Kentucky students who are the first in their family to graduate from college pick a faculty member to join them in a special ceremony.

Earlier this month, the university canceled the ceremony, along with other convocations that recognize Black and LGBTQ+ students, citing the Trump administration's campaign to rein in diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Those student groups pooled resources for a celebration together off campus — without the school's involvement — but Kissinger said the about-face left him and others feeling unsupported.

“It’s kind of like you’re taking away our celebration, like you’re not letting us embrace who we want to be,” said Kissinger, a graduating senior who leads the university’s First Generation Student Organization. “You’re not letting us represent what we do at the university.”

President Donald Trump's calls to eliminate any program that treats students differently because of their race have brought new scrutiny of affinity graduation ceremonies. The events have long been a way to build community and recognize the achievements and unique experiences of underrepresented students.

Many affinity ceremonies are on track to proceed as usual around the country, with colleges saying the events comply with new guidance.

But some colleges are pulling back support. Those include Harvard University, which is battling the Trump administration over demands related to campus activism and diversity efforts on campus. Despite suing the administration over some of its attempts to force changes on campus, Harvard told students it would no longer provide funding, staffing or spaces for affinity celebrations, the Harvard Crimson student newspaper reported.

At the University of Kentucky, spokesperson Jay Blanton said the main commencement celebrates all students. He said the university did away with others to comply with the law and “how we believe it is being interpreted by the administration.”

“The success and support of our students is a principle and purpose that is incredibly important to us. Everything we do on this campus, we do with that in mind as our goal," Blanton said. "At the same time, we believe we must comply with the law and are doing so here.”

Around the country, universities have come under increasing pressure to get in line with the political agenda of Trump's administration, which already has frozen billions of dollars in grants for Harvard, Columbia University and other colleges over allegations they have not done enough to counter antisemitism.

The Education Department directed colleges to distance themselves from DEI with a "Dear Colleague” letter in February. It said a 2023 Supreme Court decision outlawing the use of racial preferences in college admissions also applied to things like hiring, scholarships and graduation ceremonies. The administration contended American educational institutions have been discriminating against students, including white and Asian American students.

“In a shameful echo of a darker period in this country’s history, many American schools and universities even encourage segregation by race at graduation ceremonies and in dormitories and other facilities,” read the letter, which was signed by Craig Trainor, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The practice has roots in the era of segregation at some schools, but organizers of Black convocations today say they are a way to celebrate the accomplishments of diverse student populations that were once overlooked. Many colleges also have “Lavender graduations,” which celebrate LGBTQ+ students and grew out of a time decades ago when many lacked support from their families.

For students who are the first in their families to attend college, it can be easy to feel out of place or unsure of where to turn for help, Kissinger said. At Kentucky, he said he often felt like he had to figure out everything on his own. The affinity ceremony, he said, was intended as a celebration of resilience and pride that they reached graduation.

Arizona’s Maricopa County Community Colleges called off all its cultural and special interest convocations, citing in a statement “enforcement priorities” set by the U.S. Education Department. But the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community volunteered to hold a convocation ceremony for American Indian graduates.

“While we are deeply disappointed by the cancellation of convocation ceremonies for minority students, we believe it is important to come together as a community to honor our graduates and their families,” community President Martin Harvier said in a statement.

At Ohio University, Aaron Thomas arranged for his alma mater’s Black alumni weekend to go forward this spring after the university canceled it to comply with a state prohibition on DEI, which echoes the federal directive. Thomas, who runs a production company near the university's campus in Athens, Ohio, planned to foot the bill for an alumni barbecue until the mayor's office, nonprofits and restaurants pitched in to organize a weekend of events.

Among the schools with affinity events planned over the next few weeks is California State University, Long Beach, which says its celebrations for Pacific Islander and Cambodian students, among others, comply with the administration's guidance because they are open to anybody.

“Our students are looking forward to these celebrations, which are open to all and are consistent with guidance from the Department of Education," spokesperson Jim Milbury said.

On its website, a statement included with information about the cultural celebrations acknowledges the changing college landscape:

“Particularly as federal immigration policies evolve, there may be concerns that representatives and officers from U.S. immigration enforcement agencies may visit university campuses across the country," it says. "While we have no knowledge of any planned visit to our campus, we offer this information.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Austin Kissinger is seen at Gatton Student Center on the University of Kentucky's campus Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Austin Kissinger is seen at Gatton Student Center on the University of Kentucky's campus Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Austin Kissinger is seen at Gatton Student Center on the University of Kentucky's campus Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Austin Kissinger is seen at Gatton Student Center on the University of Kentucky's campus Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)