As has been splashed across the news, and even across our front page, the Idaho Legislature has put together a pair of bills to not only ban the use of diverse language or even the mention of diversity in the language put out by the university, but to collapse several entire departments within the university and 16 separate positions across the university by getting rid of any funding given to diversity and equity offices and employees. We at the Argonaut stand in firm opposition to these actions by the legislature.
We believe that not only is diversity imperative to the higher educational experience, but that these offices and these efforts do invaluable work in ensuring that diversity is a present part of our campus.
First, let’s look at the facts. In a study from Stanford University, students who were exposed to active DEI programming and messaging had better cultural awareness, were better prepared to work on a global business stage, and in places with diverse faculty, were more engaged in their classes. Students were actively made better socially, professionally and academically by being exposed to diversity.
And beyond that, the bill limiting wording is not just limiting hiring, which is difficult in and of itself, it also limits what students can talk about in their admissions statements. If a student were to speak about their experiences with adversity by speaking about being a minority growing up in a small town, that essay would not be allowed to be considered in their admissions decision, which would negatively affect the student’s chance of acceptance.
But more than that, these departments and offices give students safe places to sit and study. The Black/African American Cultural Center always seems to have a student, and more commonly, several students, inside of their lounge studying or eating lunch. The Women’s Center provides quiet study spaces and free beverages, as well as pads, tampons, and pregnancy tests. These places provide tangible benefits to the students on campus who use them, and to get rid of them and the staff who run them would be a great disservice to our campus community, which is something we cannot stand for.
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Keith
DEI is inherently discriminatory. Taking anything into account other than merit when deciding who gets to do what means you're not treating anyone fairly. If people other than straight white guys deserve to be somewhere they'll prove it by being the best, but DEI directly makes things harder for the straight white guys, or anyone white. White people aren't the enemy, all DEI does is cause resentment in the institution and in each other, causes division in a time when we so desperately need to unite. DEI is inherently evil, and needs to be removed everywhere.
Gen Z Reader
"You can't defund these programs, sometimes a student sits in the offices while they study! Where will they eat lunch?" Students sit and study all over campus, no matter what color they are. That's what campus is for. If that's the most important reason you can think of for these offices to exist, then maybe they actually should be done away with. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." This is obviously politically offensive to "we at the Argonaut," but when you pull your head out of the political football teams it's obvious that these offices don't create much material value for how much they cost. I also have a hard time believing that every single person at the UI Argonaut is of one mind and spirit on this issue. I think it's entirely more likely that whoever doesn't buy the party line on this wouldn't dare speak up about it. I sure wouldn't want to be the brave soul to raise my hand and point out that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes, especially when there's apparently such an expectation that the newsroom be perfectly unified against whatever the loudest voices point at. No wonder professional journalism is a dying industry.