The GOP’s fervor to crush DEI has harsh consequences at UT
Public universities are communal investments in the thinking skills needed for a healthy society. To build muscular thinkers, universities need a broad range of thought and experience. Last week under the pressure of Senate Bill 17, an anti-DEI law, the University of Texas by some estimates laid off at least 60 of its staffers dedicated to protecting that strength in Texas college students.
These workers were laid off not over questions of competence or relevance – but for their effort to facilitate academic success for every student. That’s more than 52,000 students witnessing their state marshal both law and political pressure to remove school-funded DEI offices and initiatives, or staff that perform DEI functions. That’s an entire university community seeing Texas deny students the chance to find support, learn about differences, and feel welcome in their academic home.
And that’s Texas – driven by Republicans’ fervor to hunt down and crush what they’ve deemed “woke” tendencies in education – gnawing deeply into the reputation of its magnificent higher education system. By doing this, the state alienates already-admitted UT students who might be its next energy gamechangers or medical giants. Gov. Greg Abbott, charged with protecting Texans’ interests, is instead sabotaging their future. That future depends on thinkers from a range of backgrounds, ethnicities – and yes, life experiences – for economic success.
Senate Bill 17, which went into effect in January, forbids the state’s public universities and colleges from funding any office, initiative, or program that supports diversity, equity and inclusion objectives. Last week 40 employees of UT’s Division of Campus and Community Engagement lost their jobs. UT said the layoffs were for efficiency after it made changes to comply with SB 17 in January.
As a public institution, the university has had to comply with SB17 and, presumably, protect itself by speaking with neutrality. “The new law has changed the scope of some programs on campus, making them broader and creating duplication with longstanding existing programs supporting students, faculty and staff,” UT President Jay Hartzell wrote to the university community on Tuesday. “Following those reviews, we have concluded that additional measures are necessary to reduce overlaps, streamline student-facing portfolios, and optimize and redirect resources into our fundamental activities and research.” Funding for DEI initiatives will now be redirected to teaching and research, he said.
Such corporate-speak can hardly hide the law’s practical consequences on Texas education.
Contrary to the rhetoric that created SB 17, DEI is not a plot to undermine merit in university admissions or campus life. It is part of a generations-long trend, with its roots in the civil rights movement. The simple goal: addressing the obstacles that blocked minority groups from the education, job opportunities and upward mobility that define America at its best.
For these Americans, gaining admission to universities – itself a generations-long struggle – isn’t enough. To excel in classes, shine on sports teams and enjoy the mental health and feeling of community that bolster achievement as a citizen, students at Texas universities deserve access to supportive groups.
Students from outside these groups benefit from them too – learning by their proximity and participation in these campus-sanctioned groups.
The result is a Texas that thrives because, as research shows again and again, diversity is the only way to access the full, rich talent pool available to us.