Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives on college and university campuses are increasingly coming under attack. To a great extent this backlash is being fueled by misinformation campaigns that go viral on social media. Here are the top ten pieces of fake news currently circulating about DEI efforts in higher education:
— After every snowfall of one inch or more at Colby College in Maine, employees obliterate the blanket of whiteness on the campus quadrangle by drenching the snow with Hawaiian Shave Ice Rainbow Syrup.
— The only smoothie available in cafeterias at Stanford University is the “Kumbaya,” a 20-ounce whipped blend of beef tacos, chitterlings, hummus, jerk chicken, pork fried rice, and pizza.
— At Duke University, every white student must apologize to a student of color at least three times during the semester. Biracial students must apologize to themselves.
— During Orientation Week, all 1st-year students at UC-Berkeley attend a 2-hour interactive session entitled “Why Aren’t You Trans?”
— The Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Tufts University mandated that a student production of “Gone with the Wind” cast a Black woman as Scarlett O’Hara and an Asian man as Rhett Butler.
— At the University of Pennsylvania, at least one starting player on the men’s basketball team must be either legally blind or under 5 feet tall. The team has not scored a single fast-break point in the past two years.
— All Faculty Senate meetings at Grinnell College in Iowa begin with Drag Queen Storytime.
— In order to receive tenure at the University of Chicago, professors must agree to donate 10% of their estate to an HBCU when they die.
— Every commencement ceremony at Middlebury College in Vermont includes an acknowledgement by the President that the land occupied by the College was originally settled by squirrels.
— At Yale University, a representative of the Communist Party leads students in pledging allegiance to the 1619 Project of The New York Times at the beginning of every class.
Please do your part. Report all DEI rumors to University Life so we can check their accuracy. Thank you.