The response to Hamas’s massacre in Israel on Oct. 7 has opened the eyes of many to the troubling influence of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, especially in higher education. Scenes of Jewish students being attacked on college campuses were infuriating. Even more appalling was the lack of condemnation from university presidents.
Part of the foundational problem is that DEI does not actually promote inclusivity. It is the opposite of diversity of thought. Students are classified into groups based on their race and heritage.
Concerningly, DEI is being used as a cover to justify discrimination. Jews are considered “oppressors” by the DEI system, so the discrimination they face is somehow justified by its believers. This kind of ideology needs to be eliminated.
Further contributing to this problem is institutions’ shift of their priorities away from educating and toward enriching the higher education bureaucracy. From 2015 to 2020, for example, public universities increased administrative spending by 6.6% while decreasing funding for actual learning by 1.6%. This is while the cost of public universities has skyrocketed by 109% in the last 30 years.
This increased cost is not going to improve education. Instead, those dollars are funding DEI programs that further divide campuses. A recent report studying 65 colleges and universities found that the average institution was paying for 45 staff members to promote DEI policies.
DEI is not only being subsidized by families paying higher tuition but also taxpayers who contribute significant funding annually for universities.
Meanwhile, as colleges prioritize DEI funding, students are being discriminated against for their heritage. Concerningly, at a Senate HELP Committee roundtable on antisemitism, we found that students were unaware they could report discrimination to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, the entity tasked with ensuring federally funded activities at universities do not discriminate against students.
The lack of initiative from colleges to support Jewish students, likely driven by adherence to DEI priorities, is disturbing. If promoting diversity is the goal of DEI, colleges must ensure students know their rights if faced with discrimination.
That is why I introduced legislation that requires colleges to properly inform students on how to file OCR complaints on their websites and through promotional materials around campus. Students’ safety should be every university’s utmost concern, and this legislation is one step toward empowering students who experience the adverse outcomes of DEI hostility.
If DEI’s intent is to bring people together, it has failed, especially in the aftermath of Oct. 7.
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Hopefully, the shocking discrimination promoted by this ideology will open the eyes of families when choosing universities. In turn, universities will need to realign their priorities back to promoting true education and fostering an environment for all students to succeed.
Meanwhile, Congress has a responsibility to examine the activity of these schools. We need to ensure federal dollars go toward improving learning, not promoting divisive ideologies. As the lead Republican of the Senate’s education committee, that is my promise.
Bill Cassidy is a U.S. senator for Louisiana and serves on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
