DEI-ncorrigible: Utah Universities Work to Skirt Discrimination Bans

Watchdog files Titles VI and IX complaints against two Utah universities.

Government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) announced today it has filed Civil Rights Act complaints with the federal government against both the University of Utah (U of U) and Utah Tech University (UTU) for what seem to be systematic violations of Titles VI and IX anti-discrimination laws.

DEI just won’t die — at least not in the woke corners of higher education. “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” policies are inherently discriminatory and may violate the Civil Rights Act, federal executive orders, and many states’ laws. But devotion to such discriminatory ideology runs deep, particularly in education, and Utah’s higher education institutions are not immune.

PPT’s complaint against U of U highlights the school’s Education Coordinator’s discussion with an undercover Accuracy in Media (AIM) reporter where the Utah university official detailed how the school is evading the state’s ban on DEI programs, saying the school simply markets it “a different way” and uses faculty to cloak DEI under their “academic freedom.”

At issue with UTU are statements made by the school’s Student Resource Center Director to an undercover journalist from AIM. Asked about the January 2024 Utah law banning DEI to bring state institutions into compliance with the Civil Rights Act, the director said the main DEI vehicle used by state schools was technically “dissolved,” but was instead just “reorganized.” In fact, she pointed to the university’s recent hiring of two individuals for DEI roles.

“We didn’t really get rid of anything,” she stated.

This appears to be more than just the intransigence of a few campus functionaries. Rather it sounds like the deception was orchestrated, endorsed, or sanctioned by higher-ranking officials within both the U of U and Utah Tech.

“The fact that this malevolent behavior is occurring in Utah of all places just shows how entrenched these discriminatory policies are within the education system, not just at every level but everywhere,” said PPT Director Michael Chamberlain. “It doesn’t seem to matter what actions, laws, or decisions come from state and federal lawmakers, governors, the President, the courts, even the Supreme Court; education leadership appears utterly intransigent and unwilling to reassess. Instead, they choose to try to hide what they are doing from the public. Parents have to be asking where they can send their kids to get away from such discriminatory and destructive ideologies.”

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