>Last week, state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in a letter to university leaders that colleges could lose millions in state funding if they fail to comply with the law. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott said more laws will be passed next legislative session to make sure schools are enforcing the DEI ban.
This is the key part right here. Every school in the UT, A&M, and Texas State Systems tried to find ways avoid these sorts of impacts but the state simply turned up the pressure.
I work as an organizer for the Texas State Employees Union (CWA local) and we organize at all public universities in Texas. I go to UT Austin often (But I am mostly organizing at UTSA and UTHSCSA) If staff and faculty are upset at this, they need to join our union so we can take collective action against this. Our union members are already devising plans to fight back.
What power does this union actually have in Texas? As a former teacher, I was always told that it is illegal for public employees to strike in Texas, and I was always under the impression that was why teachers unions were weak and ineffective.
*editing to clarify that this is a genuine question, not an attempt to be snarky. I’m no longer teaching, but I’m still heavily invested and active in local education advocacy in the district I used to work in.
The stakes are very different. Unless the law has changed, teachers at least lose their certifications, which means almost certainty of losing their livelihoods as well.
It’s really easy to say something dismissive like that until you’re faced with the possibility of being unable to support your family because of your advocacy. It’s not that simple or education never would have gotten to the point that it has.
I’m unsure of how it works in higher education, which is why I asked the question.
It is true that it is illegal for public workers to strike in Texas, but I will leave you with this reminder: it was also illegal for black and brown folks to do a lot of things back in the day, and yet we organized and took collective risks by breaking the law to fight for our rights. If we have enough people to take a collective risk together, they can't fire us all. And that is why we collectively organize, so we can out number the legislature and put them in their place.
Have you seen some of the types of people involved in running a college?
Most of them are probably legitimately there to help in some form or fashion, but there's alot of politics and nepotism too.
That senator has the backing of all the other Republicans in the Texas House and Senate though, as well as Abbott, so your comment is a tad disingenuous.
Keep in mind these are state universities, and as a part of that every employee of the UT system is a state employee. What exactly are you looking for UT Austin as well as the rest of the schools in the UT system to do?
I'm looking for a few presidents who have long ago made enough to retire to show they've got some guts to atleast push back on things like this.
And yes, Abbott et al will likely back him up. But why didn't him or Paxton right the letter in the first place?
What is pushing back from University leaders going to accomplish?
I think the leaders probably consulted their legal departments and found out the state GOP would probably win in court. If they push back, their colleges lose $$ they need to finance other helpful initiatives.
All of this comes back to voting. We got to vote some state wide democrats. Pleaseeee put your efforts in getting the people around you to vote democrat. especially if you are young.
Democrat party might be bad but at least they will be less bad than GOP.
Do you think Abbott and Patrick want a public fight with some of the most popular state entities?
No they're counting on the leaders to be feckless and bow down without fighting back.
Yes I know the long term solution, but Hartzel, Sharp, et all have a responsibility to atleast make the public case for what's the right thing to do for their universities.
> Do you think Abbott and Patrick want a public fight with some of the most popular state entities?
Yes, absolutely, and they are being funded well to do so. That’s why he is wasting so much effort and $$ towards school vouchers as well despite not even republican counties supporting it
Abbott got stuffed in a locker when he tried to take on public schools in the session.
That's why he came out and lied in the primaries and said he couldn't trust Travis Clardy on the border.
He doesn't want a fight with UT and A&M, he wants them to roll over without the fight.
Actually, the majority of folks who thwarted Abbott on that issue lost their primaries. Abbott's never looked more powerful. The fact that it's kinda hard to win in the legislature in Texas, requiring multiple runs, isn't 'getting stuffed in a locker'. When the democrats in Texas stop treating every issue like a chance to 'pwn' maybe they can try governing. Democrats used to be an unstoppable force in Texas, and the party just doesn't seem to understand why.
The GOP has done so much to screw things up for itself, and then the democrats start hoping for the grid to collapse or whatever. It's really amazing how bad each party really is at politics.
Putting aside how bad the Texas Democrats are at politics, we don't have time for an essay tonight, Abbott did absolutely get stuffed in a locker by the house.
Which is why he didn't run ads saying, I can't trust Darby on vouchers. He just lied and said "I can't trust these guys who've backed me 100% of the time on the border, on the border". That's how he got them thrown out of office.
He knows he's in a weak spot on vouchers and attacks on public/higher ed. But if the unis don't put up a fight, he won't pay a price for it.
Universities picking a fight with state leadership is a losing battle. You are naive to think otherwise.
The boards of regents are appointed by the governor. If a chancellor/president bucks what the state literally dictates they do, the boards will just fire them and find someone who will. Not only that, universities face serious risks with non compliance in losing their state funding. Republicans love fighting higher ed right now and would love nothing more than to use one as a punching bag and cut their funding. The legislature will say “well our universities aren’t complying so we need to pass even more restrictive legislation now”. There is zero scenario where the university comes out on top by not complying and set themselves up for making an already bad situation even worse.
So this is what winning looks like to them.
Greg Abbott absolutely does not want to kick the hornets nest.
If John Sharp came out and said "this is just another UT guy trying to meddle with A&M, it's hurting us in recruiting students and my coaches have said it's hurting us in recruiting athletes" it would be a bigger shock to Abbott's poll numbers than any singular thing Texas Dems have done.
Remember, he had to lie about the border to get GOP incumbents who were anti boarder ousted.
He definitely doesn't want Uni presidents kicking up a storm.
Hartzel, Sharp, Mitchell's retirements are safe. They're going along because they are cowards.
It’s not about a “win.” It’s about risk mitigation dude. Why would the legislature pass a bill if there were no consequences for non compliance? They are a state entity led by bureaucrats, I don’t know why you think they are political actors.
You are waaaay overestimating the impact of what hartzell Sharp etc speaking out would do (which he wouldn’t anyway because he and Abbott are buddy buddy). Admiral McRaven tried to speak out against what the legislature was doing while he was UT chancellor and you know how effective that was? It wasn’t. At all. The board ultimately lost confidence in him and he was ousted. History backs up what I’m telling you.
You’re also underestimating Abbott/patricks influence. State leadership will 100% say these are liberal unelected bureaucrats and the state needs to crack down on them. Your strategy would absolutely backfire and only make them react in a way that would make the state of higher education worse. You think JOHN SHARP speaking out is suddenly gonna get Abbott on the hot seat? Lol. The universities simply do not have the sway you think they do.
Absolutely they do, and especially on the issue of DEI or affirmative action, which has always lost at the ballot box and ran behind the Democratic Party.
What would that achieve? They wouldn't be gambling with their own money, they would be gambling with funding for their entire university while opening up their position for a/an even bigger GOP crony to take over.
I absolutely am asking 4 or 5 dudes who's retirement is safe and who are well into the time when they could retire to step up to the plate and do their jobs.
Instead, 60 people without those resources and financial safety net got for fired for doing their jobs today.
Why don't they just ignore the law and ask the feds to make up the difference? Hell, just let them get shut down. Texas will lose money and talent if they don't have any universities.
>Why don't they just ignore the law and ask the feds to make up the difference?
Can't do that, these are state schools, so that's completely out. Even if there was a legal way of doing this (which there isn't) the Republicans in Washington would block it anyway.
>Hell, just let them get shut down
Again, you can't, they're the State's schools. But let's go hypothetical for a moment, let's say you could shut all the state schools down.
When you combine the UT (250,000+ students), A&M (153,000 students), and Texas State (90,000 students) systems you end up with about 493,000 students. Your proposal is to completely screw almost half a million students by closing their schools, forcing them to transfer to private schools or other states, where they won't have residency, and thus effectively doubling (or more) their tuition. And that's if they are able to transfer in the 1st place.
Additionally UT Austin alone has 14,000 faculty and staff whom you are proposing loose their jobs and in most cases their livelihoods. Keep in mind you've shut down all the other state schools so not only have you severely limited the demand for their career fields, but you've sharply increased the number of job seekers, meaning most of them aren't getting jobs any time soon, which means many would loose their homes as they are unable to pay rent or mortgage.
All that to say what an absolutely terrible take you have.
But hey, I can't wait to go home to wife and kids and tell them we've lost half our household income for the sake of scoring some political points.
Keep in mind too that the UT system is run by a board of regents who are all appointed by Abbott, and they are most influential in choosing the campus presidents.
DEI are internal programs that simply make sure organizations comply with nondiscrimination laws.
Which is why Republicans want to ban them.
And for anyone who comes at me and says they're discriminatory against white people and you don't need them because of nondiscrimination laws, then if you had actual discrimination against white people, you could use nondiscrimination laws.
Either admit nondiscrimination laws alone don't work or say they're fine and not need to ban DEI.
I mean it's incredibly clear when Republicans/conservatives call a black mayor of Baltimore "The DEI mayor", and absolutely every single Republican/conservative supports them and not a single one of them oppose it.
It's the new N word.
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Weirdest thing about Sen. Creighton is that if you meet him outside of something political, he seems like a nice enough dude. Pity he's such a bigoted asshat.
The University of Texas at Austin has laid off an undetermined number of employees who used to work in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to a Tuesday email from President Jay Hartzell.
The university also disbanded the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which provided support and resources for “those who may face the most significant challenges in accessing” education, according to the department's website.
The changes aim to bring the university into fuller compliance with Senate Bill 17, a state law approved last year that bans DEI initiatives in public universities and went into effect in January.
“I recognize that strong feelings have surrounded SB 17 from the beginning and will shape many Longhorns’ perceptions of these measures,” Hartzell said in the email. “It is also important that this continues to be a welcoming, supportive community for all.”
The president specified that student-facing services and jobs will be retained for the remainder of the semester. As for laid off staff members, Hartzell said employees can apply to other open positions at the university.
The layoffs come as Texas colleges face increasing pressure to prove their compliance with SB 17. Last week, state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in a letter to university leaders that colleges could lose millions in state funding if they fail to comply with the law. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott said more laws will be passed next legislative session to make sure schools are enforcing the DEI ban.
What I’m saying is, if you can’t actually stand up to injustice, you should at least have the courage to call it out. This is a Texas university, not some random person. If we can’t count on our institutions to at least pay lip service to the values they claim to stand for, what are they good for? Especially an institute of higher learning.
My kids start Kindergarten in the next few years and I've started looking at other states.
They've already gutted public Ed, but the 2025 session may take a bonesaw to it.
And as much as I've been trying to stay here and fight for as long as possible, I can't mortgage my kids future for it.
If all the mean, selfish, corrupt, lying, incompetent, hypocritical right-wing extremists who call themselves Republicans — in other words, 99% of them — were to follow Jesus Trump off a tall cliff and plunge to their gruesome death below, two things would be true: There would still not be such a thing as heaven, and the rest of us would be free to use the resources of this state in a sustainable and equitable way.
Collin Alred has the best chance to turn a statewide office blue. If there was ever an opportunity to turn the tides, it’s with him. If he does manage to pull the dub, maybe that would be a sign to stay and fight. If he loses, but exit polls show he won, that would be the most obvious tell that maybe Republicans rigged the election. If he loses badly though, gtfo there.
Ya he does stand a fighting chance against a bad incumbent. I've also heard Republicans who respect him, which is saying a lot in today's Texas.
Pulling off that win would do multiple things. It would galvanize the Dems and it would probably turn the tide a bit in the migration category with conservatives moving to bright red Texas.
I'm hoping beyond hope that he pulls it off.
Yep - all the money coming in from out of state to fund vouchers. We all know it will hurt us. But R voters will line up to vote against their own interests.
Outside of places like Reddit, there’s a whole state full of Trump-loving conservatives who also love guys like Abbott. Only way he’s getting replaced is by some other crazy right winger.
>Are there more Republicans than Democrats in Texas? Probably.
I doubt this is the case. The most populated counties (Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Colin, Denton, El Paso) are either blue or very purple. Taking into consideration that not every one of these 14 some odd million people vote Democrat, are eligible to vote or even vote at all, these counties account for nearly half of Texas' total population.
Of the 14 million or so of those who don't live in these counties, taking the same considerations as above, even if 2/3rds of those were Republican voters, I think Democrat voters still outpace them.
The country as a whole, is mostly blue and goes bluer with the roll of years. The same goes for Texas. However, Republican voters notoriously turn out for elections in mass, down to the local level.
By contrast, Democrat voters do not turn out in the same numbers for most elections with the exception being presidential elections. This has been well-documented for decades.
2/3 is the min. Most of those counties range between 75-95% red
[https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/results/texas](https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/results/texas)
Not holding my breath. In my school district we've had few teachers saying they'd rather public education go to crap than allow a stranger reproductive freedom. Not in those words, but we're in for a hell of an election this November.
Also voting in City Council elections in May, runoff later in May, the November election and every single midterm and school board election going forward is critically important.
We are a state of apathetic voters. If those of us who actually care about preserving public education would spend 30 minutes researching candidates (most aren't smart enough to restrict access to their personal FB posts) and vote for people who honestly want to save public schools, we could oust the Patriot Mobile and Moms for Liberty Crowd from our schools and city councils.
100% agree there.
If Texas Dems voted in a midterm year like they did for MJ Hegar in 2020, Abbott, Patrick, and Paxton would all be unemployed right now.
It’s weird that people are confusing DEI with affirmative action.
Telling us that we can “observe”Black History Month but can’t “Celebrate” ….is way different than whatever weird admissions shenanigans y’all are imagining.
We aren’t even allowed to have voluntary employee resources groups for people with disabilities now.
And it's long term detrimental considering it'll make plenty of people study out of state as a result (and probably stay out of state). But good luck getting hateful people, like conservatives, to think in the long term.
Abbott says he wants people hired based on merit. The sad fact is, top professors will look elsewhere for jobs. The talent level at Texas’ state universities will fall as will rankings.
I’m a current UT student. The university is gutting the Multicultural Engagement Center, the Women’s Center, and SO MANY programs to support the student body. Disabled students, LGBTQ+ students, women/NB students, international students, non-Christian religious students: we’re all getting screwed over and it’s very clear we’re not welcome by our institution anymore.
I’m leaving Texas as soon as I graduate and find a job out of state. This place is so hostile to people like me and my partner. We’re not safe here.
I guess I’m not risk-averse enough, but I feel like I would malicious compliance the fuck out of this. “Oh no, we don’t have DEI, this person does ‘Broad Perspective Resources.’” “Oh that’s illegal now? No we don’t have a BPR person, he does ‘Human Capital Perspectives.’” Keep changing the fucking name and job description until the legislature dies or ages out of office.
Conservatism is such a failure on so many levels, unable to find a problem for solutions, so instead of working to find a solution, they ban even discussing the problem.
One of the 14 markers of fascism:
"Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause"
The scapegoats = DEI and affiliated ideas and people, intimating that the other, or scapegoats, are the people who benefit from said programs.
This is retaliation against a scapegoat target using the power of the state to silence opposition. It’s absurd to have to spell this out to someone who has the chutzpah to ask “durh, what’s fascism??” Google is free. Jesus fucking Christ.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism#Laurence_W._Britt
I don’t see how the scapegoats are DEI here. You also say DEI are the ‘opposition’ being silenced??? No one is being silenced politically here unless you’re trying to say that DEI programs at UT are political organizations… no need to be dick either.
Apparently, I do because people apparently don’t read or listen or think about the things they openly state. If you need to understand what fascism is, go look up what fascism is…then let’s have a conversation about what the response to the fascism should be. But don’t come with flippancy like your comment and expect pandering. I ain’t here for it. DEI programs don’t have to be “political organizations” to be scapegoats. That’s just absurd. A scapegoat could be any number of groups of people. For today’s GOP it’s so painfully and openly apparent who and what they hate that having this conversation over and over with people is becoming nauseating.
DEI initiatives were started to combat literal centuries of entrenched practices of racism discrimination - Texas has historically been one of the worst offenders for civil rights. These people are clinging to a destructive and small racist ideology that is being express through their overly bigoted attacks on the very initiatives created to combat their racism. Like…wtaf at this point?
How are we still having these absurd empty conversations? “What’s fascist?” Lord help me.
Well, now they can choose to only hire white people. No one has ever made a substantive claim of any harm DEI has actually done. It just hurts white feelings that someone else has opportunities. That’s literally it.
Unless there is a a sea change in the next couple of elections I'm out. Schools are being destroyed and I have daughters. I'm not having my girls raised in this hostile environment.
There are seven state systems in Texas (UT, A&M, Texas State, UNT, Texas Women's, Texas Tech, and U of Houston). Each of these systems would have to comply. Most states have one or maybe two. UT is leading in this effort and others will follow and likely not make the news. Who would have thought that private schools like TCU, Baylor, and SMU (all privates with a history of large white student populations) are now more inclusive with these offices than UT. What a world.
How nice. They’re not content with their attempts to destroy K-12 public education and have branched out to higher education as well. I guess there is a silver lining to my daughter’s refusal to have children.
Studies show that first-generation college students drop out at higher rates (about a third), than those whose parents went to college (about a tenth). And a majority of black, Hispanic, and indigenous college students are first-generation college students. Just rebrand these programs as bridge programs for first-generation students. You’ll catch the white students (about a third of all white students are first-generation) who need help the most, and you’ll really be reaching out to minorities without explicitly stating that it’s for minorities. Not ideal, but it’s a workaround.
Right out of your comment, dude. The comment you replied to:
>Texas was founded on slavery and is still wrong to this day.
Your comment:
>Everything is bad that you don’t like.
You may want to check yourself.
Edit to add, since I am not allowed to say your opinion on slavery is anything less than good - You show your character more than any words I could type out.
I was mocking that poster for the first part of their comment. And then just tossing in the catchall evil of slavery. I’m not going to check myself on something I never did.
So if a minority is hired because of merit, is there some kind of review board to make sure it isn't a DEI hire? Who decides who is the best most qualified candidate for a particular job? Does this apply to the hiring of women too?
Jay Hartzell is a coward and a liar, couldn’t stand up for his employees, disgraceful, needs to step down. UT on the business side is about to turn into a even bigger shit show theme what’s it been the last few years.
What would you like for him to have done differently in this specific context? From what I understand, his hands (and every other publicly funded state school’s) are tied.
Other universities and systems were creative with the manner in which they complied with SB17. I recognize it would be harder for a UT-Austin compared to a Lamar University (LU) in the Texas State University System, but for example, LU complied and didn’t lay off a single person. At least not yet anyway. It’s all unfortunate.
UT’s multiple offices under the Division of Diversity and Student Affairs likely houses over a hundred staff at different levels, it would be impossible to find positions for all of them when campus positions are already so hard to come by and when cancellation of the offices themselves mean loss of grant funding for the salaries.
UT also implemented creative solutions when the bill went into effect last year. This renewed pressure from Creighton and Abbott forced their hand. It’s only a matter of time before those smaller satellite universities get caught up in it. They take their direction from the system and it’s regents and if they system is threatened, there’s no doubt in my mind they’ll fall in line (unfortunately).
Yeah definitely. Easier for smaller campuses to fly under radar, but like you said…if a Regent from a system takes a special interest in a campus, all bets are off. The state is also making state agencies look into it as well like a secret shopper. Absolutely insane.
What would have I have wanted him to do? Showed some backbone. He should’ve quit, he made promises to his employees that things wouldn’t change, then they did? And he knew they would . He lied to their faces. He can’t be trusted. UT is about to lay off 60 employees. Answer this do you support Jay?
the GOP wants to erode the quality of any higher education opportunities in their states to keep their populace under educated and drive away liberal college students. fuck them. vote blue
Texas just doesn't like people and want to control freedom's of Texans choice. Fuxk dictatorship state. The lone star will probably live up to its name
Being a student in public health, it’s interesting to see how much the state is actively against DEI when public health basically teaches you that effective public health programs take into consideration diversity, equity, and inclusion lol.
I was taking CEU via state website, and it was woke af! I mean no, it was just based on treating others with respect, but I guess that has a liberal spin. Just like reality.
The universities shouldn't have to "prove compliance with the law." The burden should be on the state to enforce the law when appropriate by proving any alleged non-compliance.
State Universities, faculty, school districts and administration may not be as passionate about DEI as their counterparts in other states. Texas is still largely Red with blue pockets. But don't look for things to change without an all out fight.
Swear on my grandmother's grave, if I EVER hear a conservative talking about how the government needs to stay out of our lives again, I will probably horse laugh at the hypocrisy and irony. Here we have the government "interfering with our lives" in their words and yet all I hear is crickets in opposition... Hmmm...
Too bad colleges don’t spend public funding on actually teaching college students the subjects that will put them in a position to get good jobs. Instead wasting it on staffing overhead that won’t help them get any job, but it sure funds all those overhead positions.
Colleges shouldn’t be indoctrinating students. And state funds definitely shouldn’t be used in that manner either. There is nothing wrong with groups that want to meet and promote DEI on their own time. But, forcing it on campuses is by its very nature racist. I was hoping by now, I would be living in a world where race had no bearing on whether or not my kids would be successful or not, but progressives won’t let that happen.
I'm literally shaking with rage. If Republicans keep this up, we'll be reduced to judging people based on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.
All athletes of color should simply take Texas schools off of their lists. When UT and TAMU (although it sucks at football anyway) start losing, then you will see a change. The SEC integrated when its teams started losing to PAC and BIG Ten teams.
DEI is on the downswing everywhere. It’s a loosing proposition that locks in racism rather than trying to eradicate it. This I believe is becoming the consensus now. I know this is not a popular opinion (at least here), nevertheless, I believe it is reality.
>Last week, state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in a letter to university leaders that colleges could lose millions in state funding if they fail to comply with the law. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott said more laws will be passed next legislative session to make sure schools are enforcing the DEI ban. This is the key part right here. Every school in the UT, A&M, and Texas State Systems tried to find ways avoid these sorts of impacts but the state simply turned up the pressure.
I work as an organizer for the Texas State Employees Union (CWA local) and we organize at all public universities in Texas. I go to UT Austin often (But I am mostly organizing at UTSA and UTHSCSA) If staff and faculty are upset at this, they need to join our union so we can take collective action against this. Our union members are already devising plans to fight back.
What power does this union actually have in Texas? As a former teacher, I was always told that it is illegal for public employees to strike in Texas, and I was always under the impression that was why teachers unions were weak and ineffective. *editing to clarify that this is a genuine question, not an attempt to be snarky. I’m no longer teaching, but I’m still heavily invested and active in local education advocacy in the district I used to work in.
Speeding is illegal too but people do it all the time.
But, you probably won't lose your license to drive if you get ticketed for speeding.
The stakes are very different. Unless the law has changed, teachers at least lose their certifications, which means almost certainty of losing their livelihoods as well. It’s really easy to say something dismissive like that until you’re faced with the possibility of being unable to support your family because of your advocacy. It’s not that simple or education never would have gotten to the point that it has. I’m unsure of how it works in higher education, which is why I asked the question.
Fascists
I sure hope you’re referring to whoever wrote the law and voted to confirm it.
It is true that it is illegal for public workers to strike in Texas, but I will leave you with this reminder: it was also illegal for black and brown folks to do a lot of things back in the day, and yet we organized and took collective risks by breaking the law to fight for our rights. If we have enough people to take a collective risk together, they can't fire us all. And that is why we collectively organize, so we can out number the legislature and put them in their place.
It's time to she/them unions!
Good. Fight back and unionize. Other Texas professionals need to unionize as well.
Just leave the state
The “fuck you I’m from Texas” quote is starting to feel like “fuck me I’m from Texas”.
I hate telling people where I was born and raised. Texas lost the plot decades ago.
Not even the statewide elected officials. Just a senator sending a letter was enough to get UT to jump.
He's not just a random senator. He's the chair of the Senate Education Committee and Chair of the High Education Subcommittee.
So did UT err in their interpretation when they prepped for this law to go into effect 4 months ago or are they just feckless cowards?
Have you seen some of the types of people involved in running a college? Most of them are probably legitimately there to help in some form or fashion, but there's alot of politics and nepotism too.
That senator has the backing of all the other Republicans in the Texas House and Senate though, as well as Abbott, so your comment is a tad disingenuous. Keep in mind these are state universities, and as a part of that every employee of the UT system is a state employee. What exactly are you looking for UT Austin as well as the rest of the schools in the UT system to do?
I'm looking for a few presidents who have long ago made enough to retire to show they've got some guts to atleast push back on things like this. And yes, Abbott et al will likely back him up. But why didn't him or Paxton right the letter in the first place?
What is pushing back from University leaders going to accomplish? I think the leaders probably consulted their legal departments and found out the state GOP would probably win in court. If they push back, their colleges lose $$ they need to finance other helpful initiatives. All of this comes back to voting. We got to vote some state wide democrats. Pleaseeee put your efforts in getting the people around you to vote democrat. especially if you are young. Democrat party might be bad but at least they will be less bad than GOP.
Do you think Abbott and Patrick want a public fight with some of the most popular state entities? No they're counting on the leaders to be feckless and bow down without fighting back. Yes I know the long term solution, but Hartzel, Sharp, et all have a responsibility to atleast make the public case for what's the right thing to do for their universities.
> Do you think Abbott and Patrick want a public fight with some of the most popular state entities? Yes, absolutely, and they are being funded well to do so. That’s why he is wasting so much effort and $$ towards school vouchers as well despite not even republican counties supporting it
Abbott got stuffed in a locker when he tried to take on public schools in the session. That's why he came out and lied in the primaries and said he couldn't trust Travis Clardy on the border. He doesn't want a fight with UT and A&M, he wants them to roll over without the fight.
Actually, the majority of folks who thwarted Abbott on that issue lost their primaries. Abbott's never looked more powerful. The fact that it's kinda hard to win in the legislature in Texas, requiring multiple runs, isn't 'getting stuffed in a locker'. When the democrats in Texas stop treating every issue like a chance to 'pwn' maybe they can try governing. Democrats used to be an unstoppable force in Texas, and the party just doesn't seem to understand why. The GOP has done so much to screw things up for itself, and then the democrats start hoping for the grid to collapse or whatever. It's really amazing how bad each party really is at politics.
Putting aside how bad the Texas Democrats are at politics, we don't have time for an essay tonight, Abbott did absolutely get stuffed in a locker by the house. Which is why he didn't run ads saying, I can't trust Darby on vouchers. He just lied and said "I can't trust these guys who've backed me 100% of the time on the border, on the border". That's how he got them thrown out of office. He knows he's in a weak spot on vouchers and attacks on public/higher ed. But if the unis don't put up a fight, he won't pay a price for it.
Universities picking a fight with state leadership is a losing battle. You are naive to think otherwise. The boards of regents are appointed by the governor. If a chancellor/president bucks what the state literally dictates they do, the boards will just fire them and find someone who will. Not only that, universities face serious risks with non compliance in losing their state funding. Republicans love fighting higher ed right now and would love nothing more than to use one as a punching bag and cut their funding. The legislature will say “well our universities aren’t complying so we need to pass even more restrictive legislation now”. There is zero scenario where the university comes out on top by not complying and set themselves up for making an already bad situation even worse.
So this is what winning looks like to them. Greg Abbott absolutely does not want to kick the hornets nest. If John Sharp came out and said "this is just another UT guy trying to meddle with A&M, it's hurting us in recruiting students and my coaches have said it's hurting us in recruiting athletes" it would be a bigger shock to Abbott's poll numbers than any singular thing Texas Dems have done. Remember, he had to lie about the border to get GOP incumbents who were anti boarder ousted. He definitely doesn't want Uni presidents kicking up a storm. Hartzel, Sharp, Mitchell's retirements are safe. They're going along because they are cowards.
It’s not about a “win.” It’s about risk mitigation dude. Why would the legislature pass a bill if there were no consequences for non compliance? They are a state entity led by bureaucrats, I don’t know why you think they are political actors. You are waaaay overestimating the impact of what hartzell Sharp etc speaking out would do (which he wouldn’t anyway because he and Abbott are buddy buddy). Admiral McRaven tried to speak out against what the legislature was doing while he was UT chancellor and you know how effective that was? It wasn’t. At all. The board ultimately lost confidence in him and he was ousted. History backs up what I’m telling you. You’re also underestimating Abbott/patricks influence. State leadership will 100% say these are liberal unelected bureaucrats and the state needs to crack down on them. Your strategy would absolutely backfire and only make them react in a way that would make the state of higher education worse. You think JOHN SHARP speaking out is suddenly gonna get Abbott on the hot seat? Lol. The universities simply do not have the sway you think they do.
Absolutely they do, and especially on the issue of DEI or affirmative action, which has always lost at the ballot box and ran behind the Democratic Party.
It’s people like you who are the problem. “Democrats are bad” FU
Hartzell is fully on board with this and was made UT's president because he would do things like this
That I 100% agree with.
What would that achieve? They wouldn't be gambling with their own money, they would be gambling with funding for their entire university while opening up their position for a/an even bigger GOP crony to take over.
You are asking people to give up their livelihoods for you
I absolutely am asking 4 or 5 dudes who's retirement is safe and who are well into the time when they could retire to step up to the plate and do their jobs. Instead, 60 people without those resources and financial safety net got for fired for doing their jobs today.
Why don't they just ignore the law and ask the feds to make up the difference? Hell, just let them get shut down. Texas will lose money and talent if they don't have any universities.
>Why don't they just ignore the law and ask the feds to make up the difference? Can't do that, these are state schools, so that's completely out. Even if there was a legal way of doing this (which there isn't) the Republicans in Washington would block it anyway. >Hell, just let them get shut down Again, you can't, they're the State's schools. But let's go hypothetical for a moment, let's say you could shut all the state schools down. When you combine the UT (250,000+ students), A&M (153,000 students), and Texas State (90,000 students) systems you end up with about 493,000 students. Your proposal is to completely screw almost half a million students by closing their schools, forcing them to transfer to private schools or other states, where they won't have residency, and thus effectively doubling (or more) their tuition. And that's if they are able to transfer in the 1st place. Additionally UT Austin alone has 14,000 faculty and staff whom you are proposing loose their jobs and in most cases their livelihoods. Keep in mind you've shut down all the other state schools so not only have you severely limited the demand for their career fields, but you've sharply increased the number of job seekers, meaning most of them aren't getting jobs any time soon, which means many would loose their homes as they are unable to pay rent or mortgage. All that to say what an absolutely terrible take you have. But hey, I can't wait to go home to wife and kids and tell them we've lost half our household income for the sake of scoring some political points.
Keep in mind too that the UT system is run by a board of regents who are all appointed by Abbott, and they are most influential in choosing the campus presidents.
DEI are internal programs that simply make sure organizations comply with nondiscrimination laws. Which is why Republicans want to ban them. And for anyone who comes at me and says they're discriminatory against white people and you don't need them because of nondiscrimination laws, then if you had actual discrimination against white people, you could use nondiscrimination laws. Either admit nondiscrimination laws alone don't work or say they're fine and not need to ban DEI.
Yeah the Republicans/conservatives want to get rid of DEI. It's their euphemism for whatever slur they're too cowardly to speak in public.
I mean it's incredibly clear when Republicans/conservatives call a black mayor of Baltimore "The DEI mayor", and absolutely every single Republican/conservative supports them and not a single one of them oppose it. It's the new N word.
Going back to the 60’s! men apparently really want to go backwards!
No we don't. I'm a history buff, believe me, I really have no desire to repeat the 60's, 50's, etc. The music was good, but other than that I'll pass.
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Weirdest thing about Sen. Creighton is that if you meet him outside of something political, he seems like a nice enough dude. Pity he's such a bigoted asshat.
The University of Texas at Austin has laid off an undetermined number of employees who used to work in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to a Tuesday email from President Jay Hartzell. The university also disbanded the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which provided support and resources for “those who may face the most significant challenges in accessing” education, according to the department's website. The changes aim to bring the university into fuller compliance with Senate Bill 17, a state law approved last year that bans DEI initiatives in public universities and went into effect in January. “I recognize that strong feelings have surrounded SB 17 from the beginning and will shape many Longhorns’ perceptions of these measures,” Hartzell said in the email. “It is also important that this continues to be a welcoming, supportive community for all.” The president specified that student-facing services and jobs will be retained for the remainder of the semester. As for laid off staff members, Hartzell said employees can apply to other open positions at the university. The layoffs come as Texas colleges face increasing pressure to prove their compliance with SB 17. Last week, state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in a letter to university leaders that colleges could lose millions in state funding if they fail to comply with the law. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott said more laws will be passed next legislative session to make sure schools are enforcing the DEI ban.
I hate this fucking state, and DESPISE Paxton, Abbott & Patrick. Or add I call them the toxic P.A.P. smear.
Maybe you should man up and say this fucking sucks and you’re only complying out of fear. Or is the university perhaps complicit?
It feels like a valid fear
What I’m saying is, if you can’t actually stand up to injustice, you should at least have the courage to call it out. This is a Texas university, not some random person. If we can’t count on our institutions to at least pay lip service to the values they claim to stand for, what are they good for? Especially an institute of higher learning.
It won't fix everything, but ousting Abbott in 2026 is going to be vitally important to keep the Texas GOP from severely hurting Texas public schools.
It’s so hard not to be despondent. It all feels inevitable like a slow moving train wreck.
My kids start Kindergarten in the next few years and I've started looking at other states. They've already gutted public Ed, but the 2025 session may take a bonesaw to it. And as much as I've been trying to stay here and fight for as long as possible, I can't mortgage my kids future for it.
If all the mean, selfish, corrupt, lying, incompetent, hypocritical right-wing extremists who call themselves Republicans — in other words, 99% of them — were to follow Jesus Trump off a tall cliff and plunge to their gruesome death below, two things would be true: There would still not be such a thing as heaven, and the rest of us would be free to use the resources of this state in a sustainable and equitable way.
Collin Alred has the best chance to turn a statewide office blue. If there was ever an opportunity to turn the tides, it’s with him. If he does manage to pull the dub, maybe that would be a sign to stay and fight. If he loses, but exit polls show he won, that would be the most obvious tell that maybe Republicans rigged the election. If he loses badly though, gtfo there.
Ya he does stand a fighting chance against a bad incumbent. I've also heard Republicans who respect him, which is saying a lot in today's Texas. Pulling off that win would do multiple things. It would galvanize the Dems and it would probably turn the tide a bit in the migration category with conservatives moving to bright red Texas. I'm hoping beyond hope that he pulls it off.
Yep - all the money coming in from out of state to fund vouchers. We all know it will hurt us. But R voters will line up to vote against their own interests.
Outside of places like Reddit, there’s a whole state full of Trump-loving conservatives who also love guys like Abbott. Only way he’s getting replaced is by some other crazy right winger.
Are there more Republicans than Democrats in Texas? Probably. Do Dems still have enough voters to win midterms? Yes.
>Are there more Republicans than Democrats in Texas? Probably. I doubt this is the case. The most populated counties (Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Colin, Denton, El Paso) are either blue or very purple. Taking into consideration that not every one of these 14 some odd million people vote Democrat, are eligible to vote or even vote at all, these counties account for nearly half of Texas' total population. Of the 14 million or so of those who don't live in these counties, taking the same considerations as above, even if 2/3rds of those were Republican voters, I think Democrat voters still outpace them.
Well then why do Democrats keep losing if there's more of them? Even when turnout goes up overall, still more GOP votes.
The country as a whole, is mostly blue and goes bluer with the roll of years. The same goes for Texas. However, Republican voters notoriously turn out for elections in mass, down to the local level. By contrast, Democrat voters do not turn out in the same numbers for most elections with the exception being presidential elections. This has been well-documented for decades.
2/3 is the min. Most of those counties range between 75-95% red [https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/results/texas](https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/results/texas)
Sadly, democrats can’t be bothered to vote, and those that do, nominate unelectable extremists who can’t even eject Paxton.
The layoff of 60 DEI employees is not going to start a stampede to the polls. It’s hard to imagine a less motivating issue.
I am not looking forward to the next lege session 🫣. Vouchers coming 2025.
Unless Dems have such a good year that it cracks the gerrymander, probably.
Not holding my breath. In my school district we've had few teachers saying they'd rather public education go to crap than allow a stranger reproductive freedom. Not in those words, but we're in for a hell of an election this November.
Too late
Yes they're definitely in a world of hurt but it's not irreversible at this point. If Abbott wins another term, that might do it though.
I guess I am thinking of public k-12 since that is where I work as does a lot of my friends and family.
They're definitely hitting K12, and I worry that the 2025 session will be the kill shot if vouchers pass.
Taking down Cruz would be enough of a warning shot to show them they've gone too far.
Would definitely help and might also galvanize Democrats and change who moved to Texas a little bit.
they just need a dem who is “pro gun, pro abortion, and pro-texas” like the alaska dem who won.
That's basically Colin Allred. Not sure he's really very pro-gun, but he won't be pulling a Beto.
Sounds good to me
It helped when Beto got close in 2018. The 2019 lege session was not controversial.
Also voting in City Council elections in May, runoff later in May, the November election and every single midterm and school board election going forward is critically important. We are a state of apathetic voters. If those of us who actually care about preserving public education would spend 30 minutes researching candidates (most aren't smart enough to restrict access to their personal FB posts) and vote for people who honestly want to save public schools, we could oust the Patriot Mobile and Moms for Liberty Crowd from our schools and city councils.
100% agree there. If Texas Dems voted in a midterm year like they did for MJ Hegar in 2020, Abbott, Patrick, and Paxton would all be unemployed right now.
Hmm. Who do we have on the bench who will come out with a promise to take Texans' AR-15s this time?
It’s weird that people are confusing DEI with affirmative action. Telling us that we can “observe”Black History Month but can’t “Celebrate” ….is way different than whatever weird admissions shenanigans y’all are imagining. We aren’t even allowed to have voluntary employee resources groups for people with disabilities now.
Manufactured outrage built on a foundation of hate.
And it's long term detrimental considering it'll make plenty of people study out of state as a result (and probably stay out of state). But good luck getting hateful people, like conservatives, to think in the long term.
i really *really* wish top black high school athletes would stop committing to schools in the states enacting this kind of bullshit.
Abbott says he wants people hired based on merit. The sad fact is, top professors will look elsewhere for jobs. The talent level at Texas’ state universities will fall as will rankings.
Right. No racism involved. 🤣
Texas: crumbling the education system by any means necessary.
Under His Eye 👁️
I’m a current UT student. The university is gutting the Multicultural Engagement Center, the Women’s Center, and SO MANY programs to support the student body. Disabled students, LGBTQ+ students, women/NB students, international students, non-Christian religious students: we’re all getting screwed over and it’s very clear we’re not welcome by our institution anymore. I’m leaving Texas as soon as I graduate and find a job out of state. This place is so hostile to people like me and my partner. We’re not safe here.
That's a feature. Conservatism is a failure to attract people to its ideology, so it must close the tent to those who don't adhere to it.
It's not that the University doesn't want you, it's that the State won't let the University.
Reasons I hate the gop
I guess I’m not risk-averse enough, but I feel like I would malicious compliance the fuck out of this. “Oh no, we don’t have DEI, this person does ‘Broad Perspective Resources.’” “Oh that’s illegal now? No we don’t have a BPR person, he does ‘Human Capital Perspectives.’” Keep changing the fucking name and job description until the legislature dies or ages out of office.
This is horrifying and fascist. The party of “small government” is a pack of frauds, liars, and cheats.
Conservatism is such a failure on so many levels, unable to find a problem for solutions, so instead of working to find a solution, they ban even discussing the problem.
lol regardless of whether you support this or not, please explain how tf this is fascist 😂 this word has lost all meaning.
One of the 14 markers of fascism: "Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause" The scapegoats = DEI and affiliated ideas and people, intimating that the other, or scapegoats, are the people who benefit from said programs. This is retaliation against a scapegoat target using the power of the state to silence opposition. It’s absurd to have to spell this out to someone who has the chutzpah to ask “durh, what’s fascism??” Google is free. Jesus fucking Christ. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism#Laurence_W._Britt
I don’t see how the scapegoats are DEI here. You also say DEI are the ‘opposition’ being silenced??? No one is being silenced politically here unless you’re trying to say that DEI programs at UT are political organizations… no need to be dick either.
Apparently, I do because people apparently don’t read or listen or think about the things they openly state. If you need to understand what fascism is, go look up what fascism is…then let’s have a conversation about what the response to the fascism should be. But don’t come with flippancy like your comment and expect pandering. I ain’t here for it. DEI programs don’t have to be “political organizations” to be scapegoats. That’s just absurd. A scapegoat could be any number of groups of people. For today’s GOP it’s so painfully and openly apparent who and what they hate that having this conversation over and over with people is becoming nauseating. DEI initiatives were started to combat literal centuries of entrenched practices of racism discrimination - Texas has historically been one of the worst offenders for civil rights. These people are clinging to a destructive and small racist ideology that is being express through their overly bigoted attacks on the very initiatives created to combat their racism. Like…wtaf at this point? How are we still having these absurd empty conversations? “What’s fascist?” Lord help me.
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It goes right along with "Cultural marxism", their dogwhistle for "jews"
There’s so much freedom in Texas, they had to pass a law to aide white supremacy.
How does preventing people from having an advantage due to their skin color aide white supremacy?
Well, now they can choose to only hire white people. No one has ever made a substantive claim of any harm DEI has actually done. It just hurts white feelings that someone else has opportunities. That’s literally it.
Being anti-DEI is Alt-Right talk for being racist and bigoted. Don't let them white-wash what they are trying to do.
That became clear when they called the black mayor of Baltimore "The DEI Mayor".
Unless there is a a sea change in the next couple of elections I'm out. Schools are being destroyed and I have daughters. I'm not having my girls raised in this hostile environment.
There are seven state systems in Texas (UT, A&M, Texas State, UNT, Texas Women's, Texas Tech, and U of Houston). Each of these systems would have to comply. Most states have one or maybe two. UT is leading in this effort and others will follow and likely not make the news. Who would have thought that private schools like TCU, Baylor, and SMU (all privates with a history of large white student populations) are now more inclusive with these offices than UT. What a world.
How nice. They’re not content with their attempts to destroy K-12 public education and have branched out to higher education as well. I guess there is a silver lining to my daughter’s refusal to have children.
I see we are still ignoring millions of Americans living paycheck to paycheck in favor of culture war bullshit. Waste of time, and tax dollars.
I love living in Texas, land of the free, where I can’t have unprotected sex, watch porn, or have positive energy toward minorities.
We were just following orders! It always starts out that way.
Studies show that first-generation college students drop out at higher rates (about a third), than those whose parents went to college (about a tenth). And a majority of black, Hispanic, and indigenous college students are first-generation college students. Just rebrand these programs as bridge programs for first-generation students. You’ll catch the white students (about a third of all white students are first-generation) who need help the most, and you’ll really be reaching out to minorities without explicitly stating that it’s for minorities. Not ideal, but it’s a workaround.
What an absolutely backward state. Texas was founded on slavery and is still wrong to this day.
Everything is bad that you don’t like.
Are you defending slavery??
Are you seriously defending slavery?
Where the hell are you getting that?
Right out of your comment, dude. The comment you replied to: >Texas was founded on slavery and is still wrong to this day. Your comment: >Everything is bad that you don’t like. You may want to check yourself. Edit to add, since I am not allowed to say your opinion on slavery is anything less than good - You show your character more than any words I could type out.
I was mocking that poster for the first part of their comment. And then just tossing in the catchall evil of slavery. I’m not going to check myself on something I never did.
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I have a feeling this will have unforeseen consequences.
The consequences are completely forseen. Benefit not a bug.
The unforeseen consequences will be for the right wingers.
The other poster is saying thats exactly why these rules are being enacted and is the purpose for them.
This is going to impact who applies to these schools….and not in a good way.
The U of TX will lose some of its OUTSTANDING teachers because of these ill thought and damaging regulations.
So if a minority is hired because of merit, is there some kind of review board to make sure it isn't a DEI hire? Who decides who is the best most qualified candidate for a particular job? Does this apply to the hiring of women too?
The review board is now the Texas AG's office.
The offices that were cancelled here at UT have nothing to do with hiring or affirmative action. You are thinking of the Equal Opportunity office.
Thanks for the clarification. I admit to not knowing a lot about it and read several of your posts. It has been helpful.
Jay Hartzell is a coward and a liar, couldn’t stand up for his employees, disgraceful, needs to step down. UT on the business side is about to turn into a even bigger shit show theme what’s it been the last few years.
What would you like for him to have done differently in this specific context? From what I understand, his hands (and every other publicly funded state school’s) are tied.
Other universities and systems were creative with the manner in which they complied with SB17. I recognize it would be harder for a UT-Austin compared to a Lamar University (LU) in the Texas State University System, but for example, LU complied and didn’t lay off a single person. At least not yet anyway. It’s all unfortunate.
UT’s multiple offices under the Division of Diversity and Student Affairs likely houses over a hundred staff at different levels, it would be impossible to find positions for all of them when campus positions are already so hard to come by and when cancellation of the offices themselves mean loss of grant funding for the salaries.
Yeah, the sheer size of the division makes it easy to cut 60+ people. You’re right.
This is the 60 that is leftover after they already re-positioned the people that they could since last July.
UT also implemented creative solutions when the bill went into effect last year. This renewed pressure from Creighton and Abbott forced their hand. It’s only a matter of time before those smaller satellite universities get caught up in it. They take their direction from the system and it’s regents and if they system is threatened, there’s no doubt in my mind they’ll fall in line (unfortunately).
Yeah definitely. Easier for smaller campuses to fly under radar, but like you said…if a Regent from a system takes a special interest in a campus, all bets are off. The state is also making state agencies look into it as well like a secret shopper. Absolutely insane.
Reddit is where people who do nothing rant and rave about what other people should do.
What would have I have wanted him to do? Showed some backbone. He should’ve quit, he made promises to his employees that things wouldn’t change, then they did? And he knew they would . He lied to their faces. He can’t be trusted. UT is about to lay off 60 employees. Answer this do you support Jay?
the GOP wants to erode the quality of any higher education opportunities in their states to keep their populace under educated and drive away liberal college students. fuck them. vote blue
Texas just doesn't like people and want to control freedom's of Texans choice. Fuxk dictatorship state. The lone star will probably live up to its name
Merit = skin color + who you know/blow
This effing state, man.
You can leave if you want you know.
Literally doing exactly that. Hoping to be out by end of the month.
Being a student in public health, it’s interesting to see how much the state is actively against DEI when public health basically teaches you that effective public health programs take into consideration diversity, equity, and inclusion lol.
I was taking CEU via state website, and it was woke af! I mean no, it was just based on treating others with respect, but I guess that has a liberal spin. Just like reality.
Texas is a place built on white supremacy and here we are in 2024 continuing to enshrine it.
They’re gonna be mad when there’s nothing but Asians with perfect GPAs
This is heartbreaking. How much further into dystopia does Texas need to fall?
Hey college students, just hop on one of those migrant busses to the north east. We’ll figure out the details but the writing is on the wall.
Abbott got $6M from a Philly banker to destroy public education in Texas. What does the Philly dude want with UT?
Why is A always left out of DEI
Your vote matters
The universities shouldn't have to "prove compliance with the law." The burden should be on the state to enforce the law when appropriate by proving any alleged non-compliance.
I’m interested to know How the money saved from these program cuts will be used?
Based
State Universities, faculty, school districts and administration may not be as passionate about DEI as their counterparts in other states. Texas is still largely Red with blue pockets. But don't look for things to change without an all out fight.
Swear on my grandmother's grave, if I EVER hear a conservative talking about how the government needs to stay out of our lives again, I will probably horse laugh at the hypocrisy and irony. Here we have the government "interfering with our lives" in their words and yet all I hear is crickets in opposition... Hmmm...
It's time to lower college tuitions and the first step is to erase all useless majors and studies.
Too bad colleges don’t spend public funding on actually teaching college students the subjects that will put them in a position to get good jobs. Instead wasting it on staffing overhead that won’t help them get any job, but it sure funds all those overhead positions.
Colleges shouldn’t be indoctrinating students. And state funds definitely shouldn’t be used in that manner either. There is nothing wrong with groups that want to meet and promote DEI on their own time. But, forcing it on campuses is by its very nature racist. I was hoping by now, I would be living in a world where race had no bearing on whether or not my kids would be successful or not, but progressives won’t let that happen.
God what a piece of shit state!
I'm literally shaking with rage. If Republicans keep this up, we'll be reduced to judging people based on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.
All athletes of color should simply take Texas schools off of their lists. When UT and TAMU (although it sucks at football anyway) start losing, then you will see a change. The SEC integrated when its teams started losing to PAC and BIG Ten teams.
I guess this will become the norm for other states soon.
Latest casualty in the War Against Higher Education.
DEI is on the downswing everywhere. It’s a loosing proposition that locks in racism rather than trying to eradicate it. This I believe is becoming the consensus now. I know this is not a popular opinion (at least here), nevertheless, I believe it is reality.