Recently, many lawmakers have spoken against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices in educational institutions. The Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, is the latest governor to join the list of opposers for the movement.
Like the other lawmakers, Stitt is calling for policymakers to defund these DEI offices. He is also advocating for their elimination, citing several discriminatory practices.
According to Stitt, DEI programs “grant preferential treatment” based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.” Therefore, the Governor banned the use of taxpayer money to fund these offices.
He also issued an executive order prohibiting any executive agency, including public colleges, from requiring job applicants to complete a DEI statement or “loyalty oath” to diversity as a condition of applying.
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These conditions are present in states like California and Arizona, which have a lot of DEI officers. Moreover, the Oklahoma governor did not stop there. He called for a detailed review of all the DEI offices across the state to ensure no biased treatment was going on.
The review will also ensure these offices do not violate general state civil rights laws. This is because there are several reports of the offices practicing bias treatment. An example is the boss response teams present at both the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.
These teams are reportedly very biased toward people not protected by the DEI, making it detrimental to them. The Federal courts in Oklahoma are also aware of these teams and have tried to put several measures in place to help other students.
Individuals on campus can now complain anonymously to school authorities when they see or hear something inappropriate. They can also report if others give preferential treatment to other students protested by the DEI offices.
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As mentioned earlier, Stitt is not the only one against these DEI practices. The legislative arm of the government received several complaints and had a hearing on the issue in October. State Sen. Rob Standridge was present at this hearing and was a strong opposing voice against DEI.
He summed their activities up as discriminatory and said that they are cramming the ideology “down the throats of our young kids.” Just like Stitt, he suggested that lawmakers shut down the activities of DEI offices.
Therefore, in November, the Iowa Board of Regents approved a policy eliminating DEI offices “that are not necessary for [colleges] compliance or accreditation.” The board also ensured that all DEI activities must be impartial and “broadly available to all students and/or employees.”
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Institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University are the primary recipients of major backlash in the media. The University of Pennsylvania’s president’s performance at the hearing was “poor.” Therefore, she and the board chairman resigned shortly after.
In a similar way, Harvard did not represent the institution in a good way that defends its need for DEI. The president’s speech made several headlines, with outlets claiming that its DEI offices are not doing much to help, especially on recent sensitive issues like genocide and antisemitism.
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