Days after the student government at the University of Florida approved a “Green New Deal,” the top-rated public institution fired all of its full-time “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) faculty in one go. It also shuttered the “Office of the Chief Diversity Officer” bureaucracy.
The move, which will save taxpayers millions of dollars per year, drew mixed reactions. Communists, socialists, Democrats, racists, LGBT extremists, and America haters all whined about the decision. But among conservatives and Republicans, the news was greeted with celebration.
Critics of DEI — sometimes ridiculed as DIE — have long argued that “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” are all buzzwords to conceal the real agenda: leftwing extremism, racism, Marxism, anti-Christian hate, anti-Western activism, and more. Under the guise of diversity, conservatives and Christians are silenced while Marxists and non-Christians are elevated.
At its core, DEI divides Americans into oppressor or oppressed based on characteristics such as skin color, gender, national origin, and so on. This is a slight variation on traditional Marxist strategy that divides people based on economic status — a revolutionary strategy that communists realized was not and would not be successful in the West.
DEI officers and offices across academia, government, and even the corporate world act as the Western equivalent of Communist political “commissars.” Such commissars remain the hallmark of totalitarian regimes such as the one enslaving mainland China, where every institution must have a political hack to enforce ideological conformity.
“DEI really is a cover for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,” explained State Board of Education Chairman Ben Gibson, echoing sentiments expressed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other political leaders. “That has no place in our state colleges at all, and our state colleges need to be focused on learning.”
According to an “Administrative Memo” released by top UF leadership including Provost J. Scott Angle, the recent decision was taken to comply with a regulation created by the Florida Board of Governors that prohibits spending money on DEI. The rule was a response to a law passed last year banning such schemes.
That state regulation defines DEI as “any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.”
As such, UF closed the “Office of the Chief Diversity Officer,” eliminated all DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted all contracts with outside vendors related to the far-left ideology. The memo said the $5 million in savings would be reallocated to a fund for recruitment controlled by the provost.
There were firings, too. “Under the direction of UF Human Resources, university employees whose positions were eliminated will receive UF’s standard twelve weeks of pay,” the university memo said, drawing praise from critics of the DEI schemes. About a dozen full-time employees were let go, and 15 “administrative appointments” were eliminated.
However, those DEI officials may re-emerge in new “jobs.” “These colleagues are allowed and encouraged to apply, between now and Friday, April 19, for expedited consideration for different positions,” the memo said. “UF HR will work to fast-track the interview process and provide an answer on all applications within the twelve-week window.”
The memo also emphasized UF’s commitment to various values. “The University of Florida is – and will always be – unwavering in our commitment to universal human dignity,” it said. “As we educate students by thoughtfully engaging a wide range of ideas and views, we will continue to foster a community of trust and respect for every member of the Gator Nation.”
However, despite the bruhaha over the decision, leftwing extremism and identity politics are not going anywhere. Numerous students and others were quoted suggesting that much of their “work” would continue, but that words such as “diversity” and “equity” would simply have to be changed out.
In fact, the university still has, among other outfits, a “Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement (CIME)” that includes offices for “Asian Pacific Islander Desi Student Engagement,” “Black Student Engagement,” “Hispanic-Latinx Student Engagement,” and “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer + (LGBTQ+) Student Engagement.”
Other universities across Florida are also slashing their “DEI” staff and programming. However, as occurred in Indiana government schools in response to similar policies, there should be no doubt that woke administrators and leftwing extremists feasting on taxpayer dollars will seek to preserve as much of the bureaucracy as possible under new names.
Shutting down the DEI bureaucracy in Florida is a great step in the right direction, saving taxpayers money while protecting students and faculty from indoctrination, discrimination, and hate. However, the war is far from over. God-hating, America-hating, family-hating zealots remain firmly entrenched throughout academia. Hopefully this is just a first step.
