About 200 Chapman University students gathered in front of the university president’s office in Memorial Hall on Monday to protest the sudden placement of two top administrators responsible for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on leave.
The university has given no reason for the decision last week to place on leave Provost Norma Bouchard and Vice President of DEI Reg Stewart.
More than 30 student organizations co-sponsored Monday’s rally to demand transparency and request that the university also commit to preserving Chapman’s cross-cultural center and to keeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers off campus.
About 200 Chapman University students take part in a walk out and protest against Trump’s policies on immigrants and diversity, on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A counterprotester who said he didn’t want his face shown because he “distrusts the media,” holds a sign supporting Trump’s policy on DEI. About 200 other students protested against the president’s policies on immigrants and diversity, at Chapman University in Orange on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
About 200 Chapman University students take part in a walkout and protest on Monday, March 17, 2025, against Trump’s policies, including immigration, DEI, and Palestine. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
About 200 Chapman University students take part in a walkout and protest on Monday, March 17, 2025, against Trump’s policies, including immigration, DEI, and Palestine. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The LGBTQ+ flag is waved during a Chapman University walkout and protest against Trump’s policies on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Monday, March 17, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chapman University student Hailey Bunsold, 21, center, and about 200 students take part in a walkout and protest on Monday, March 17, 2025, against Trump’s policies, including his executive orders to dismantle DEI. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Show Caption1 of 7About 200 Chapman University students take part in a walk out and protest against Trump’s policies on immigrants and diversity, on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Expand“As a person of faith, I cannot stand by without action while student advocate Dr. Reg is placed on leave without explanation,” said senior Ruthie Weeks, speaking on behalf of the club Disciples on Campus.
“First they came for DEI initiatives, what will they come for next?” student Myth Moss asked the crowd.
Students for Justice in Palestine appeared to have the biggest presence among the student organizations. Students representing that club led the remarks in front of Memorial Hall and then a brief march across campus chanting “D.E.I.”
At one point, Dean of Students Jerry Price reminded a speaker from the club that he was violating university policy by using a bullhorn to amplify his remarks.
“The protest is perfectly legit,” Price said. “It’s just that university policy prohibits amplified sound during class hours without advanced approval.”
The walkout remained peaceful even after students continued to use the bullhorn.
A smattering of Chapman public safety officials stood around the quad and temporary fencing had been placed in front of Memorial Hall to block students from its entrance.
A small group of counter-protestors from the Chapman Republicans club walked around campus posting anti-DEi flyers. They declined to be interviewed.
The two administrators were placed on leave no more than two days after the Trump administration sent letters to 60 colleges across the nation, including Chapman, warning the schools that they could lose federal funding if they did not do more to prevent alleged antisemitism on campus.
The federal education department’s Office of Civil Rights has been investigating Chapman since June in response to a complaint filed by the Louis. D Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a Jewish legal advocacy group.
The complaint alleges the university failed to take appropriate actions in response to claims of antisemitic harassment and exclusion of Jewish students on campus by the Chapman Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Last spring, the chapter organized an encampment on campus amid the surge of pro-Palestinian activism at U.S. universities after the start of the war in Gaza. Several dozen similar claims have been filed against universities across the country.
“Chapman University is fully committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of our campus community, and we stand by our record in this regard,” the university said in a statement to the Register on Friday. “Chapman has a longstanding history of supporting our Jewish students, faculty and staff through both our words and actions.”
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