The merry-go-round is meant to spin a person into a euphoric experience, going into a repetitive motion until they reach peak joy. Although this concept is fun for many children, the proverbial merry-go-round of life is much less enjoyable in adulthood. The consistent pulling back of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives feels just like that: a repetitive cycle of the same thing, wondering when it will all end.
The latest announcement of organizations rolling back DEI comes out of North Carolina. According to Inside Higher Ed, the University of North Carolina (UNC) state system voted to ban DEI policies and offices. Passing with a 22-2 vote, the ban calls for state institutions to cut funding and eliminate positions related to DEI across the system’s 16 campuses. In its place, the system will roll out a “equality within the university” policy that ensures balance across the system, claiming that previous policies did not align with the state system’s culture of neutrality. While that language is ambiguous, System President Peter Hans says it is a necessary stance of neutrality in politically controversial times.
“Our public universities must take a stance of principled neutrality on matters of political controversy… it is not the job of the university to decide all the complex and multi-dimensional questions of how to balance and interpret identity,” Hans said at a board meeting per Inside Higher Ed. “This policy will preserve the university’s role as a trusted venue for that vital debate.”
Schools in the state system are on a timetable to comply with the new policies. Based on a report from public radio station WUNC, the educational institutions have until Sept. 1 to fully comply. Several schools have made significant changes to meet the requirements by the stated due date.
Appalachian State University no longer has a chief DEI officer in its chancellor’s cabinet. The school also closed its DEI office and removed its DEI page from the website, replacing it with a more general webpage offering students university resources.
Other institutions like UNC Chapel Hill, Winston Salem State University, UNC Pembroke, UNC Asheville, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, and East Carolina University have also started their process toward compliance. These actions include altering or deleting their DEI websites, closing their DEI departments while reviewing the best steps not to displace staff, reviewing how to redirect funding, or renaming their DEI departments to be more general HR specific to comply with the requirements.
Conversely, HBCUs Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina A&T University, and Fayetteville State University have not responded to WUNC’s requests for comment about their actions regarding the current ban.
North Carolina’s moves, specifically in higher education, are not the first. The Southern state follows others like Florida and Texas taking steps to eliminate DEI efforts, leading to many layoffs and eliminated funding for key resources.
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