The recent surge in antisemitic protests on college campuses should serve as a turning point for universities to reconsider their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that are fueling this intersectional hatred.
The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has decided to redirect $2.3 million from DEI spending in the 2024-25 budget towards public safety. Similarly, Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University have halted plans to mandate DEI-oriented classes for undergraduates, due to pressure from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Several GOP-led states have also taken steps to ban DEI bureaucracies at public universities.
The ideologies promoted by DEI programs and the bureaucrats employed by these programs are sources of the hate seen in these protests. While antisemitism is a glaring example of this hate, these programs also encourage dividing people based on race, religion, gender, and other irrelevant categories. The staff promoting these ideologies do not contribute to students’ education or intellectual growth and should not be funded by taxpayers.
It is crucial for universities to dismantle DEI offices, let go of staff promoting division and hatred, and focus on enhancing students’ educational experiences. Until this shift occurs, universities will continue to witness protests filled with antisemitism and other forms of identitarian hatred.
