diversity equity and inclusion Archives - The Wisconsin Daily Star

Commentary: The Left Brands Conservatives ‘Haters’ for Daring to Question Woke Cultural Supremacy

June 12, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Wokeness is impossible to escape. Everywhere you turn, you see rainbow flags, Black Lives Matter signs, or calls for “diversity and inclusion.” Companies force DEI trainings on staff. FBI agents march in Pride parades. Teachers tell kids in school that they are oppressors or oppressed based on their skin color. Target stores sell transgender swimsuits and Bud Light teams up with a grown man who acts like a little girl. Even Buzz Lightyear and “Star Wars” have gone woke.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is falling all over itself to push transgender pronouns, to promote drag queens, and to celebrate Pride—even on Easter Sunday!

UCLA Med School DEI Leader Accused of Major Plagiarism Refuses to Address Allegations

May 31, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Another university diversity, equity, and inclusion administrator is facing allegations of plagiarism – but neither she nor her employer, the University of California at Los Angeles, has responded publicly to the report.

Natalie Perry, the leader of the Cultural North Star program at the UCLA School of Medicine, and UCLA did not answer multiple requests for comment from The College Fix since a recent investigation alleged she plagiarized large portions of her doctoral dissertation.

Illinois Recommends Bonuses to Colleges for Black, Hispanic Students

May 23, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Illinois soon could give bonuses to universities for enrolling African American and Hispanic students under a proposal by a state government commission.

The recommendation by the Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding aims to address “the historic inequities” in education “especially among students from low-income households, students of color, students from rural communities, and working adults,” according to a news release.

MIT Becomes First Elite School to Eliminate Diversity and Inclusion Hiring Requirement

May 8, 2024 Just the News

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the first elite university to get rid of its “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” criteria in its hiring requirements, after the university’s president claimed that it does not work.

MIT previously required candidates hoping to join its faculty to provide a statement that shows they understand the “challenges related to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and describe their “track record of working with diverse groups of people.” They were also required to demonstrate how they plan to advance DEI in their position at the school. But a 2023 poll found that a large majority of the school’s faculty and students were afraid to express their views, according to Fox News.

Chairman Jordan Presses Wray for Data on FBI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Hiring Practices

May 8, 2024 Just the News

“We understand that the FBI has struggled with attracting enough qualified applicants from all desired target groups to sustain its mission This is likely due to the FBI re-focusing its recruitment efforts on DEI statistics,” Jordan wrote in the letter to Wray.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is pressing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray for more information surrounding the bureau’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) hiring practices and other initiatives.

Congressional Republicans’ Bill Seeks to Crack Down on DEI in Med Schools

May 3, 2024May 2, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Bills that seeks to block med schools from receiving federal funds if they maintain diversity equity and inclusion mandates are winding their way through Congress.

“Embracing anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in Education,” or the EDUCATE Act, would limit the availability of funds for medical schools that “adopt certain policies and requirements relating to” DEI, it states.

Pentagon Says It Can’t Calculate Diversity Training Costs Because Congress Defunded DEI Offices

May 1, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

The Pentagon told Congress it could not provide a required accounting of diversity training to Congress because it didn’t have enough people working in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) positions, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Congress mandated the Pentagon compile a report detailing how much the entire military spent on diversity training, salaries for DEI administrators and any impacts on recruiting and retention across the force that was due March 1, according to last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets defense policy for the next fiscal year. But the Pentagon is nearly two months behind the due date for the report after the same defense authorization act for fiscal year 2024 slashed the salaries of DEI personnel, effectively gutting the departments, the DCNF learned.

Military Could Hit Troops with Court-Martials for Refusing to Use Preferred Pronouns, Experts Say

April 23, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

The military could seek to formally punish service members for refusing to use another service member’s preferred pronouns under existing policy, according to military experts.

A 2020 Equal Opportunity law opened the door for commanders to subject someone who refuses to affirm a transgender servicemember’s so-called gender identity to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for charges related to harassment, Capt. Thomas Wheatley, an assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Such a move would likely infringe on a servicemember’s constitutional rights to uphold their conscience, but it might not prevent leaders from employing more subtle ways of disciplining service members.

Alan Dershowitz Says He is No Longer Loyal to Democratic Party After Columbia Protests

April 22, 2024 Just the News

Dershowitz, a Democrat who has been a major critic of President Joe Biden and the current administration, said his party has been an “extraordinary disappointment” because they have not been very vocal about the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University.

Lawmakers Decry U.S. Military’s Drift to DEI Culture

April 22, 2024 The Center Square

The U.S. military’s ongoing embrace of the far-left culture war has drawn increased attention and ire from lawmakers.

Despite Pentagon officials waving off concerns, a steady stream of evidence has shown that the most progressive ideas on race, gender and sexuality have become the norm, in particular within the administrative parts of the U.S. military.

Majority of Colleges Tie Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to Graduation Requirements: Report

April 12, 2024April 11, 2024 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

A majority of colleges and universities require students to take courses related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in order to graduate, according to a new report.

Speech First, a pro-free expression organization, examined the policies of 248 colleges across the country and found that 67 percent of them required DEI coursework to “satisfy general education requirements.” Students enrolled in these courses are “subjected to courses advocating far-left ideological perspectives and pushing far-left political advocacy,” the report notes.

DEI Newsletter Circulates US Intel Community, Promoting Cross-Dressing and Woke Language: Report

March 25, 2024 Just the News

A “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” newsletter that highlighted cross-dressing and woke language was recently circulated in the U.S. intelligence community, according to reports.

It was sent to organizations such as the CIA and featured a secret agent who revealed he was a cross-dresser.

Commentary: We May Be Headed for a 1930s Nightmare with the Rise of Weimar America

December 5, 2023 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Something eerie, something creepy, is happening in the world — and now in America as well. The dark mood is brought on by elite universities, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion industry, and massive immigration from illiberal nations and anti-Enlightenment societies.

At Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, hundreds of students rioted on news that a single teacher in her private social media account had expressed support for Israel. Waving Palestinian flags, and screaming violent threats, the student mob rioted, destroyed school property, sought the teacher out and tried to crash into her classroom — before she was saved from violence by other teachers and an eventual police arrival.

Wisconsin Universities Keep DEI Positions Despite GOP Gutting Budget by $32 Million

September 5, 2023 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

University of Wisconsin campus leaders have not cut diversity, equity and inclusion positions from their campuses despite losing $32 million in funding from the GOP-led state legislature earlier this summer in an effort to see such programs axed.

However, system leaders are in the process of requesting a partial reimbursement to the tune of $15 million from the Wisconsin State Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee to fund non-DEI, workforce development-related positions, which state lawmakers left open as an option to recoup some of the cuts.

Commentary: SCOTUS’ Decision on Affirmative Action Could Spell Big Trouble for ESG’s ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ Hiring Quotas

July 3, 2023 Admin

It’s a simple ruling: “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”

On June 29, the Supreme Court affirmed Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S. Code § 2000d’s prohibition on racial discrimination in federally funded programs, including higher education, at both public and private universities, in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision.

Texas Gov Abbott Signs Bills Banning DEI in Public Higher Education, Reforms Tenure

June 15, 2023 The Center Square

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed two bills into law designed to reform public higher education institutions in Texas. One bans them from implementing DEI policies and another revises the tenure structure.

Both bills, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, passed the legislature during the regular legislative session. Senate Bill 17 bans public colleges and universities from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that prioritize gender, race, ethnicity and ideological beliefs as factors for hiring or admission policies. Earlier this year, Gov. Abbott’s chief of staff sent a letter to public higher education institutions and state agencies saying if they were implementing DEI policies, they were violating federal law. In response, the heads of Texas colleges and universities said they were “pausing” and reviewing their DEI policies. The new law requires them to terminate them.

Commentary: Can Texas Restore Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity to Higher Education?

May 16, 2023 Admin

Americans once said, “As California goes, so goes the nation.” Hopefully after this legislative session, Americans will say, “As Texas goes, so goes the nation.”

The Lone Star State’s leaders are fighting fiercely right now to restore non-discrimination and equal rights under the law. These are American values embedded in U.S. civil rights laws and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, but they’re no longer practiced—or enforced.

School District Pays Thousands for Controversial Emotional Survey Program with Ties to Merrick Garland

May 9, 2023 Admin

A Massachusetts school district has spent more than $30,000 to conduct “social-emotional learning” (SEL) surveys on students and staff led by an educational organization founded by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s son-in-law, according to a public records request by Parents Defending Education (PDE), a parental rights in education group.

From 2018 to 2023, Old Rochester Regional School District spent $30,620.25 to partner with Panorama Education through January 2024 to conduct SEL surveys and trainings, a learning concept that has been accused of laying the foundation for Critical Race Theory (CRT), according to a public records obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Panorama Education has previously come under fire by parents for its connections to Garland, who directed the FBI in 2021 to “use its authority” on parents who protested at school board meetings.

Biden Administration Inserts Racial, Gender Equity into Everything from Energy to Food

April 25, 2023 Just the News

When the Biden Energy Department recently unveiled $72 million in funding to help train the next generation of green energy workers it did more than just tout its latest solution for climate change. It argued a racially and gender diverse workforce was “crucial” to the project’s mission.

The Cabinet department tasked to “ensure America’s security and prosperity” through energy didn’t explain how a “diverse workforce” can mitigate or reverse Biden-era energy trends such as some of the highest gas prices in American history, some of the lowest oil reserve levels in nearly 40 years and “unprecedented” growth in utility bill debt.

Medical Schools Are Ditching Standardized Tests in the Name Of ‘Diversity’

April 24, 2023 Admin

A developing medical school trend to ditch the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) requirement may not bode well for the future of the profession, medical watchdog group Do No Harm told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Approximately 40 medical schools across the country have dropped the MCAT, a multiple choice exam that determines an individual’s ability to problem solve, think critically, and understand concepts about medical study, as a requirement for some applying students, according to a list compiled by Inspira Advantage. Do No Harm alleged that dropping the requirement is another way schools aim to bolster diversity on campus but asserted that it is a “dangerous trend,” according to its analysis.

Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife Donates $130 Million to Organization Pushing Woke Education in Schools

February 6, 2022February 5, 2022 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, is donating over $130 million to an organization that advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles to be taught in schools, Communities In Schools announced Thursday.

Communities In Schools, a national organization working to support student access to education and resources, announced the $133.5 million donation from Scott on Thursday. The investment is reportedly intended to broaden the efforts of the organization and expand its mission in schools across the country.

Democrats’ ‘America Competes’ Act Allocates Millions for ‘Diversity’ Programs

January 28, 2022January 27, 2022 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Legislation designed to make the U.S. more competitive with China includes millions in appropriations for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The America COMPETES Act, introduced by House Democrats late Tuesday, is a companion to a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate in June 2021, though the House version lacks Republican support. The bill is designed to increase domestic technological advancement and innovation in order to make the U.S. more competitive with China, and includes $45 billion to ease supply chain disruptions and $52 billion for domestic semiconductor fabrication.

Commentary: We Must Never Cede Language to the Left

January 8, 2022January 7, 2022 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

In 2001, I served in the Michigan State Senate. One morning our then-governor, John Engler, met with our Republican caucus to promote his idea of consolidating several state entities within a single department by executive order. Characteristic of his transformational tenure, Engler was endeavoring to further streamline the Michigan bureaucracy to provide more efficient and effective services, promote accountability within state government, and save taxpayers’ money.

When the governor finished his convincing pitch for the Department of History, Arts, and Culture, I raised my hand: “Governor, you know the new department’s acronym will be hack (HAC)?”

Commentary: Salvation Army’s Woke Descent Hurts Those It Serves

December 24, 2021 RealClearWire

In regions like suburban Philadelphia, the Salvation Army’s red kettles at retail entrances are a timeless reminder of ordinary Americans’ philanthropic commitment to the less fortunate. Unfortunately, Salvation Army leaders have now dared to accuse these same Americans of participating in a “racist” society where “racial groups are placed into a hierarchy, with White or lighter-skinned people at the top.”

The organization’s “Let’s Talk About Racism” curriculum for its officers and soldiers has sparked national outrage for its admonition that white people “repent” for “racism” and for its belief that America “work[s] to keep White Americans in power.” Yet rather than admit that these woke ideas are not shared or supported by its donors or staff, the leadership of the Salvation Army has hidden its new effort from the public.

University Spent $80,000 on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training for STEM Faculty

December 14, 2021December 13, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

A recent FOIA request filed by Campus Reform revealed that the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) spent $80,000 on a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training created by the Kardia Group, LLC. The agreement was signed in 2018 and included two series of meetings and workshops for the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters.

The Kardia Group was founded in 2004 and describes themselves as a “leading strategic partner in the transformation of the culture, functionality, and success of the academic endeavor.” Its website lists resources and services ranging from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to “transformational change for groups.”

School District Racially Segregates Students, Threatens Them for ‘Biased’ Statements: Lawsuit

October 25, 2021 Admin

A Massachusetts school district is racially segregating students and threatening to punish them for subjectively “offensive” statements they make, violating their civil and constitutional rights at both the state and federal level, according to a new lawsuit seeking permanent injunctions.

Parents Defending Education is challenging the “affinity groups” and associated spaces created by Wellesley Public Schools’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan for 2020-2025.