On Jan. 1, 2024, Texas saw Senate Bill 17 come into full effect. The bill explicitly bans the existence of diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs in institutions of higher education, and universities across the state began closing such offices with the start of the spring term.
This event has not been an isolated occurrence. The University of Texas system is just one of many American universities to have either transformed or completely abolished its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In fact, Texas’ new-year overhaul seems to have set a tone for the remainder of 2024.
The rollbacks seen in late August at the University of Kentucky, however, have not been forced by new legislation. Rather, the institution’s leadership willingly chose to eliminate its DEI programs following a debate in April, in which state lawmakers heatedly discussed diversity and inclusion policies in the state’s collegiate system.
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto claims that the university still seeks to create a sense of belonging for students, but he adds that the university has, “listened to policymakers and heard many of their questions about whether we appear partisan or political on the issues of our day.”
In that same vein, tensions arose in late August between the faculty and administration of the University of Southern Mississippi, when the latter implemented a change to remove the term “diverse” from the university’s mission statement, as well as removing “inclusiveness” from its vision statement. Faculty were not consulted in the matter and were clearly surprised by the news.
University of Southern Mississippi Physics and Astronomy Professor Jeremy Scott said the entire affair was, “an affront to shared governance,” and apprehensively voiced concerns that the institution was in danger of, “political grandstanding.”
Similarly, the administration of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently and willfully revoked its own diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Much like the faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi, the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill reported feeling “uninformed” about the changes before their implementation. The policy has expanded to apply to all 16 of North Carolina’s public universities.
Right-wing lawmakers reportedly, “applauded” the changes.
The rollbacks at these universities are already having tangible effects. The University of North Carolina collegiate system fully implemented its changes in early September by eliminating or reassigning nearly 200 staff positions formerly related to DEI initiatives.
At the University of Alabama, student organizations are already beginning to suffer. The university’s new policies revoked the designated offices for both the Black Student Union, as well as a queer student resource group known as Safe Zone. The Black Student Union and Queer Student Association at the University of Alabama no longer receive any university-allocated resources.
The events that have transpired over the course of the last several months reveal a striking pattern regarding the source of each of these decisions. Not a single one of them was initiated or established by the communities they affect or purport to serve. Whether by politicians operating at the state level or by administrative figures, these policy changes have been implemented with little to no input or approval by either the faculty or the student body of the respective institutions.
Our own institution is facing a time of change. Identity, free speech and how we may exercise it have been contentious topics over the last year, and the fast-paced development of it all has created a general air of uncertainty.
What is not uncertain is that the students, staff, faculty and administration of this university have a duty to maintain communication at all costs. Each of these groups is essential to the function of the campus we call home, and if the cases seen across the nation can offer any bit of wisdom, it is that ignoring the needs of even a single cog can damage the whole machine.
