Ideological litmus tests have no place in higher education. They weaponize loyalty and contradict the university’s purpose of fostering academic inquiry and informed debates. Scholars cannot pursue truth or progress if they are denied academic jobs based on their devotion to a specific political ideology or philosophy.
I applaud states like Florida, Alabama, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Texas that have banned varied Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements that mandate loyalty to its agenda. But we need to go further. Congress can deny federal funding to universities that impose DEI on faculty, administrators, and staff. Conservative lawmakers are already trying to “dismantle” DEI in the federal government and others are currently weighing defunding universities over Title VI violations. They should extend defunding to universities that require DEI.
DEI litmus tests must go because they do not serve students. In reality, they are about power. DEI loyalty oaths fortify campus leaders’ power to reduce diversity, equal opportunity, and access initiatives to a set of counterproductive far-left policy prescriptions that ultimately marginalize, limit, and exclude students.
In February, Cornell University emeritus trustee Jon Lindseth blamed the school’s embrace of DEI for the growing “antisemitism and general intolerance” on its campus. And yet, loyalty to the toxic DEI agenda has become pervasive in faculty hiring protocols, as have commitment pledges. A new report by the Cornell Free Speech Alliance claims that the Ivy League university has systematically filled faculty positions based on applicants’ DEI statements. […]
– Read More: www.thegatewaypundit.com
