Racial Discrimination at the University of South Carolina

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | October 30, 2024 | Louis Galarowicz

[karpov]

For several years, the National Association of Scholars (NAS), where I work, has monitored the rise of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) in higher education. DEI entered the mainstream somewhere between the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the death of George Floyd in the spring of 2020. In addition to being a set of ideals, sometimes including “anti-racism” and/or “social justice,” DEI is a set of practices and programs descended from affirmative action and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Recent backlash from both the public and conservative lawmakers, however, has caused some universities, such as the University of South Carolina (USC), to change DEI offices, giving them names more in line with Civil Rights-era norms. Yet, while the names of these departments have in some cases changed, their practices have largely continued unassailed. For over 50 years, universities have interpreted the Civil Rights Act as a mandate to racially balance their populations. The landmark Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case in 1978 permitted the use of race in student admissions. In the name of increasing “diversity,” universities have extended racial spoils far beyond admissions to faculty, staff, and even contractor hiring. For example, Mylene Culbreath, vice dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of South Carolina, describes the mission of her office as “creat[ing] greater parity between the demographic composition of the university and the communities we serve.”

[T-Bird45]

“.. DEI is a set of practices and programs descended from affirmative action and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

The author is quite misinformed as all of it, along with its evil corollary of Critical Race Theory, goes back to the 19th century and Karl Marx. The central theme of oppressor versus oppressed is the heart of his Manifesto.