'Poof, it's Gone': University DEI Dissolution Leaves a Void on Texas Campuses

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College students across North Texas have already begun to feel the negative impact of the state's forcing public universities to close their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices.

College students across North Texas have already begun to feel the negative impact of the state's forcing public universities to close their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices.student had been “hoping for the best but expecting the worst” from leaders in Texas politics and higher education. But that didn’t blunt the sadness he felt earlier this year when he learned his university had ended its LGBTQ+ programming — without informing students ahead of time.

Worse yet, SB 17 created ample confusion about what is and is not permissible, leaving both students and professors wondering what services would still be available. Course instruction, research and student organizations are not impacted by the law, yet it’s unclear if professors and students en masse are aware of this nuance.

Members of the Progressive Student Union — of which Anderson is now president — have been known for their support of DACA students and for their protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Now, they’re assessing how to react to SB17. Bryan Alexander, an author and higher-ed researcher, says it is possible to “do DEI work” under the banner of programs that don’t have the words “diversity, equity and inclusion” in their title.“Advisors are really going to be keen on different student experiences,” he says."You can really put this under a whole bunch of headers, and it's not surreptitious; it's just trying to do the job.

Sorrell adds that Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ students will bear the brunt of SB17’s ripple effect. “It’s going to have a chilling effect,” on the support students receive, he says. “It’s a way of trying to create a world that does not exist,” he says. “It’s a way to force people to accept a world that is actually contrary to their best interests, but is absolutely welcoming to special interests. And that’s wrong. It flies in the face of everything we know.”

Both he and Contreras point out that larger universities — “market makers,” as Sorrell calls them — have the resources to stand up for their students. They either choose not to do so — or try to do so in a way that gives them cover.Contreras and his fellow students in the Queer Social Work Association have the same question. Right now, they’re focused on gestures that may seem small but can in fact mean the world to many students.

For much of its existence, campus visitors were told to rub the Hereford bust as they passed by. It apparently offered good luck.

 

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