Educators throughout the nation have been pushing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Rarely has the system stopped to consider how the students feel about such measures. College Rover conducted a study that found DEI measures are influencing students’ political leanings and sometimes increasing racial bias in the classroom.
We can expect the study to be skewed as students aim to please educators with the “right” answers; therefore, they must be left. Around 30% of college students who participated said that DEI measures influenced their voting preferences and political views. Around 15% said DEI was shoved down their throats as early as middle school, a number that certainly increased in recent years as a result of divisive politics. Nearly half (49%) said they are more open to “diverse perspectives” after undergoing DEI education.
From pre-teen to young adult, two in five students in the US have taken a class that specifically focuses on gender, race, or identity. About 57% said the training or indoctrination made them more aware of systemic barriers or inequalities. Another 54% said that the programming has shaped their perspective on equality and social justice. Another 53% understood the message that they were either privileged or discriminated against.
Not everyone is receptive. One in 10 students reported feeling uncomfortable discussing gender, sexual identity, or race in the classroom. Those students reported that they feared being misunderstood. The fact of the matter is that one could not have a dissenting opinion without backlash. Grades are at risk if they disagree. One of my employees who attended university 10 years ago told me that she was forced to hand in reports from the perspective of a liberal to avoid having her grades lowered, and that was before the whole gender identity issue or DEI measures came into play.
Rutgers University conducted a study that found that sound DEI initiatives can increase hostility and division among students. “The prominent ‘anti-oppressive pedagogy’ in DEI programming can carry perceived rhetorical threats for those whose politics or other beliefs run counter to the fundamental premises of the critical paradigm from which the pedagogy derives,” the report found. Anyone who holds a dissenting belief is labeled “oppressive, racist, or fascist” in front of their peers.
“Across all groupings, instead of reducing bias, [DEI trainings] engendered a hostile attribution bias (Epps & Kendall, 1995), amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice,” the scholars stated.
Lee Jussim, a Rutgers psychology professor and one of the report’s authors, stated to Campus Reform that even those when academia were “met by academic outrage mobs” if they questioned DEI programs. They explained that journals would refuse to publish any articles or studies critical of DEI, or they would be pressured to retract any published studies that were not in alignment with the agenda.
Teachers spend a semester or a year insisting, causing discord between students. These students are privileged and should feel ashamed for their race or gender, but these students should fall into a victim mentality and feel anger toward their peers. Take tests and submit reports reaffirming the school’s belief on DEI throughout the entirety of your education. Public education has become an indoctrination center for the left to shape young minds as they see fit.
