Two colleges in Virginia will restrict their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs following a review from the office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). The news came after a similar vote at colleges in North Carolina and Florida.
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) announced that it would not require a DEI-themed course for students. VCU’s governing board rejected a plan to implement a “racial literacy” requirement for next semester.
George Mason University also announced that its planned DEI requirement would be pushed back by at least one year.
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Board of Visitors voted down a new DEI course requirement.
George Mason University’s Board delayed a DEI requirement for at least a year.
Neither school requires students to study U.S. government or history. pic.twitter.com/qWsGoe9Lyd
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) May 13, 2024
The governor had expressed concerns about “core curriculum mandates that are a thinly veiled attempt to incorporate the progressive Left’s groupthink.”
The University of Virginia also received criticism after a professor offered extra credit for students to attend one of the pro-Palestinian protests.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced this week that it would end its DEI programs and instead use the funding for campus security. The decision would transfer $2.3 million toward other projects, including campus police.
The news came as the college gained national headlines following contentious anti-Israel protests on its campus. Last week students defaced a building on campus and built a tent encampment.
The protests also created one of the iconic images of the recent disturbances. Fraternity brothers stepped in to protect an American flag from the protesters. One of the frat brothers said that he was concerned that Old Glory would be trampled or burned by the demonstrators.
Following the rescue of the American flag, a GoFundMe page raised more than $500,000 for the fraternity brothers to throw them a party. In addition, students on other campuses began to hold their own counterdemonstrations against pro-Palestinian protesters.
The news also came as the University of Florida in Gainesville announced that it would end its DEI programs and instead redirect the dedicated funds toward faculty recruitment.
The decisions are part of a wider effort to restrict DEI programs nationwide after they grew significantly following the 2020 George Floyd riots.
