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WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� As President Donald Trump seeks to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices on college campuses, a new poll suggests that while the concept of DEI is divisive, some of the initiatives being affected by his administration’s guidance are less controversial.

The poll, conducted earlier this month by , found about 4 in 10 Americans 鈥渟trongly鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat” favor DEI programs in colleges and universities, while about 3 in 10 oppose those initiatives and about 3 in 10 are neutral.

Support is higher for courses on racism and scholarships for students of color, among other services designed to help students from underrepresented groups.

The findings underscore that while 鈥淒EI鈥� has become a politically toxic and unpopular term for many Americans, some components of DEI programs have much less opposition.

This is especially true among Republicans. While about 6 in 10 Republicans oppose DEI programs broadly, their opposition softens for many of their most common elements. Just under half of Republicans oppose courses that teach about racism. About one-third oppose scholarships for students from underrepresented groups. And roughly 3 in 10 oppose clubs and mentorship services for those students.

About 7 in 10 Democrats, by contrast, favor DEI programs on college campuses, with similar shares supporting courses that teach about racism and scholarships or extracurricular support services for students from underrepresented groups.

Divides reflect different views of DEI’s meaning

Some of this tension may stem from differing perspectives on what DEI means.

鈥淚鈥檓 dead set against DEI,鈥� says poll respondent Robert Ayala, an 81-year-old registered independent who leans Republican. His understanding of DEI is 鈥済iving someone a free ride鈥� or hiring people based on their skin color, as opposed to their skill set.

But Ayala says he fully supports scholarships and mentoring to help disadvantaged students. Ayala, who has Mexican ancestry, grew up poor in rural South Dakota, faced prejudice as a child and lacked career direction. 鈥淚f I was offered a scholarship or training or had somebody to guide me, I might have found my way faster,鈥� says Ayala, who spent 22 years in the Navy, then went into contracting and is now retired near Palm Springs, California.

Trump, a Republican, has signed multiple executive orders to eliminate diversity practices in the federal government, private companies and in education, calling them 鈥渋llegal鈥� and 鈥渋mmoral.鈥� He has threatened to cut federal funding to campuses that defy him. Some of his orders are being challenged in court.

On campuses, students of color say colleges responding to the new guidance have cut back scholarships, diversity offices and mentors that made them feel welcome on predominantly white campuses.

鈥淓verybody should have the same opportunities as everybody else,鈥� says Stanley Roberts, 61, a registered Republican near Knoxville, Tennessee. He is 鈥渟omewhat鈥� opposed to the idea of DEI and is 鈥渙n the fence鈥� about courses that teach about racism because he thinks dwelling on the past creates division. 鈥淲hat happened 200 years ago or 1,000 years ago shouldn鈥檛 have happened,” he says, “but if everybody would quit talking about it, it would be a whole lot less of a problem.鈥�

White adults are more likely to oppose DEI programs

The poll shows that white adults are more likely than Black and Hispanic adults to oppose DEI programs.

Black adults are more likely than U.S. adults overall to favor courses that teach about racism.

鈥淚 know this sounds clich茅 to say, but the reason I favor teaching about racism is so history doesn鈥檛 repeat itself,鈥� says Nicole Martin, 34, a Black social worker in Idaho Falls, Idaho. 鈥淚 hear a lot of, 鈥極h, just get over it.鈥� But I think, 鈥極K you don鈥檛 want to talk about slavery. But we鈥檙e still talking about the Holocaust and that鈥檚 OK.鈥欌��

The poll found that women are more likely than men to say they support DEI programs on college campuses, as well as support services for students from underrepresented groups.

鈥淲ithout DEI, I am not sure there are many chances for understanding other people鈥檚 experiences,鈥� says Regina Cuddeback, 27, a Democrat in Cortland, New York, who says her support for DEI depends on the context.

Cuddeback does not think race should factor into college admissions but DEI programs on campuses are 鈥渃ompletely fine,鈥� and she does not think the federal government should have a say in the courses colleges offer.

鈥淪tudents have a right to take the classes they want to take,鈥� says Cuddeback, who is white and a registered Democrat. 鈥淔or a college to remove a class and say you don鈥檛 get to learn a certain subject anymore would be pretty abysmal.鈥�

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Gecker reported from San Francisco.

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,175 adults was conducted May 1-5, using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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The Associated Press鈥� education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP鈥檚 for working with philanthropies, of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.