DIE Litmus Tests are Robbing the Campus

American Thinker ^ | 27 May, 2023 | Janet Levy

[MtnClimber]

Universities are forums for the free exchange of ideas, for learning how to think, not what to think; for debate, not indoctrination. Unfortunately, that can no longer be said of American universities. Open inquiry and critical thinking untainted by ideology have been supplanted by leftist dogma, including Critical Race Theory and social justice advocacy. Except at the increasingly rare institution offering a classical liberal arts education, it has become impossible for impressionable students to earn a degree without becoming steeped in leftist rhetoric and the extreme ideas of race and gender. They end up believing that America was built on racism and defining themselves as either oppressors or victims.

These ideological intrusions were insidiously mainstreamed from the seventies onward, especially in the humanities departments, by gradually building an ecosystem fostering faculty members who are left-leaning and sidelining those who are not. Universities are now taking this to the next level by precluding the recruitment of independent thinkers and conservatives. They are requiring prospective faculty to submit a loyalty oath to the tenets of diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE; sometimes DEI) as a de facto litmus test of their political affiliation.

Examples abound of universities where DIE statements are a prerequisite for consideration for any job. At Arizona's public universities, they are a standard feature of the hiring process for all faculty, professional, and staff positions. Some institutions in the state require prospective candidates to demonstrate their allegiance to DIE ideology even before a review of their qualifications takes place. At the University of Washington, support for DIE principles is de rigueur, and faculty applicants must justify their commitment by describing their past actions and explaining how they will continue to pursue DIE goals if appointed. The University of Pennsylvania website gives applicants guidelines for composing effective DIE statements...

[MtnClimber]

It seems like these DIE requirements would open universities to being sued into nonexistence.

[ViLaLuz]

Glad to see it called DIE, rather than the God-mocking DEI.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

The postmodern and Marxist purpose to DIE and critical race theory is not to more finely hone education, or better it. It is to acquire and hold power over others.

For this, it will eventually kill its host, as do severe infections. One sees this arch and trajectory in the bankrupting of BLM as those who sought to acquire and hold power spent the money on themselves, as do the elite of all good little Marxist enterprises. The campuses now being infected with DIE will in fact die over time, collapse being foretold by many previous examples.

[OHPatriot]

THIS is the key statement, “Open inquiry and critical thinking untainted by ideology have been supplanted by leftist dogma, including Critical Race Theory and social justice advocacy. “

EVEN the STEM fields are being infected with this crap. I’ve been an Engineer for 30+ years and a significant portion of today’s graduates, I hate to say, ARE WORTHLESS. More and more every year. Work ethic is shot. Too many participation trophies for this crowd.

[EVO X]

Looks good on paper. Further down in the article:

“Haltigan is also suing the president, chancellor, psychology chair, and dean of social sciences of UCSC in federal court to seek an appointment based on his professional qualifications, not on a coerced pledge to uphold dogma he disagrees with. He is being represented by the pro bono law firm Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), which is basing its case on the fact that demanding an acceptable DIE statement violates First Amendment rights: no individual can be compelled to say something he doesn’t want to or be kept from hearing or reading the words of others. Being required to waive the right to free expression for a job is unconstitutional and imposes a condition that has nothing to do with the professional qualifications required. Further, such a policy is discriminatory and violates the Fourteenth Amendment prohibition on racial quotas.”

[VTenigma]

It’s a feature, not a bug. You can’t run an effective color revolution without the proper indoctrination.