The implosion of DEI on America's college campuses
No national championship aspirations here
Yes, we know the immediate answer that comes to mind when the question why DEI efforts cratered on America’s college and university campuses is asked: The fear of losing vital federal dollars necessary to fund grant-related research and other projects mandated that campus leaders ditch DEI, as the President of the United States demanded.
The latest DEI erasure took place a day ago when one of America’s best public universities announced DEI efforts on that campus had to go. The list grows, and perhaps the only certainty is that more and more such programs will be trimmed in the coming months.
But what if there’s a more grim reality to explain what is unfolding on college campuses big and small? What if the verbal niceties shared about DEI were mere words spoken when it seemed convenient to follow the political winds? What if, in other words, DEI efforts were considered little more than something to tolerate but were never believed and were not really worth fighting for?
A brief pause: If after reading that preceding paragraph you’re concluding that EVERY college and university campus did little more than talk the talk about DEI, then let me make clear that DEI has been part of the central mission of many higher education institutions. But perhaps not all.
Consider this: What if the White House had said that all intercollegiate athletics programs had to be killed off in order for an institution to continue receiving federal dollars? Would one college and university after another have dutifully blasted football, basketball, baseball and all other sports into the stratosphere?
A ridiculous thought, you say. Why? Because you know that a viable sports program is considered an essential part of the college experience. Think of the largest public university you can think of and then the smallest private institution you can think of. Those two and almost every other institution in between has an intercollegiate athletics program. And boasts about it.
Of course, alumni, students, fans and the media would stand up in full voice and demand that the White House reverse the idea that college sports had to go. Such sports are recruiting tools. They bring people together. They foster loyalty toward the institution. They often guarantee the college or university will be on television. And let’s not forget all that money that is generated from alcohol sales, betting and more. Sports, dare I say, matter at schools big and small. And there would be a battle royale if they were eliminated.
DEI? Well…it might bring a couple of students to a particular campus, but no one is going to live or die if Alma Mater University ditches DEI. But if AMU can’t ever win a national championship in some sport? The rage would be evident from every corner of the country.
Of course, there’s anger about the demise of DEI. But if a college or university isn’t willing to go to the mat to preserve such programs, then perhaps they weren’t valued as much as the rhetoric led us to think they were.