President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders entering office, and on Jan. 22, he signed an order ending federally protected and funded diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
More locally, Indiana Senate Bill 289, “Nondiscrimination in Employment and Education,” has passed in the Indiana Senate and is making its way to be read in the Indiana House of Representatives. It was approved to be heard by the Committee on Judiciary Feb. 3. Senator Tyler Johnson (R), a co-author of the bill and original author of the withdrawn Indiana Senate Bill 235, which was also about DEI declined an interview.
SB 289 restricts DEI practices for “state agencies, state education institutions or medical licensing boards.” The proposed bill states educational institutions must post training and curricular materials concerning nondiscrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex and bias on its website. Additionally, it can only implement policies or procedures that reference race, sex, color or ethnicity that have been approved, in writing, by the attorney general.
According to Academy Health and the Greenlining Institute, DEI practices became more normalized after the Civil Rights Movement pushed for tolerance and inclusion of diversity in “workplaces, schools and communities.” As time progressed and other groups felt there was a lack of representation, DEI began to incorporate “gender, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin and other identities.”
DEI can be seen in a variety of ways: hiring practices, training, curriculum within schools and more. However, Assistant Professor of Sociology Elizabeth Ziff said leaving educational institutions in the hands of non-educators can have consequences.
“We do have officials who are pretty vocal about ending anything to do with equity, inclusion, embracing diversity, not even just norms and values,” Ziff said. “There’s a lot of potential for damage there.”
The opposition for non-educators to have a hand in the workings of educational institutions can be seen in the sponsors for the bill. According to Legislative Updates, “The Pacific Legal Foundation testified in support of the bill. The Indianapolis Urban League, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, Indiana State Teachers Association, Indiana Coalition for Public Education, and four members of the public testified in opposition.”
Additionally, Ziff said DEI has been largely politicized and has become a dog whistle to deepen racial divides. She said that as a society, we have been made to believe there is excessive danger in competition. This thinking has been illustrated in the belief that women entering the workplace will hurt the men that have been there or that ending DEI will get someone the job they thought was taken from them, Ziff said.
“We’ve seen this ability for [DEI] to be such a powerful tool because it predicates on scarcity and fear which we see all over our society,” Ziff said. “It has also been enabled by the overall lack of sociological and arguably even just political and cultural education that we’ve seen [removal of] since about the 1980s.”
DEI works to offer support to those who have a different country of origin, according to Academy Health. For Professor of International Relations Jyokota Saksena, refugee outreach and studies has been a point of interest as seen in her co-leading the 2023 exhibit: Through Their Eyes. The exhibit highlighted the struggles of Congolese refugees in Indianapolis as well as how bills like SB 289 have potential to impact the broader community.
“Part of why it is concerning about refugees — when [legal] immigrants come into another country, they came with preparation,” Saksena said. “They probably know the language already, they made this decision. When a refugee comes from another country, they have limited options and little preparation available. … If there is no effort for DEI, there is a fear that that group will be heavily impacted.”
State universities such as Ivy Tech have already announced it will be closing their DEI offices in compliance with the executive order and anticipation of SB 289 passing. Although the University of Indianapolis is a private institution, DEI initiatives impact the university as well. Vice President, Chief Inclusion Officer and Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Amber Smith did not respond to a request for an interview.
The United States Department of Education sent out a letter on Feb. 14 now recognized as the “Dear Colleague” letter. The statement discusses that discrimination within schooling based on race is “illegal and morally apprehensible.” The discrimination highlighted in the letter is that against “white and Asian students.” Furthermore, it says that “Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon “systemic and structural racism” and advanced discriminatory policies and practices.” It states that educational institutions will have 14 days to ensure its policies, procedures and regulations follow what is said in the letter.
In President Tanuja Singh’s statement on Feb. 21 she assured students that there will be a minimal impact on what they see through scholarships and funding. In the statement, she said the university’s ethics will not be compromised.
“Belonging is a byproduct of who we are as Greyhounds,” Singh wrote in the statement. “And, we all belong here no matter where we come from or how we got here. The relationships, mentorship, and learning and life experiences that shape students’ lives at UIndy are untouchable—that cannot be legislated away.”
Saksena said programs and initiatives like DEI offices are important within an educational institution but also provided through the government. Refugee groups in Indianapolis such as Exodus are government funded, she said.
“Government institutions are important because they are not just funded by the government but most accessible to those in the community,” Saksena said. “One of the biggest problems with this initiative is that we don’t know the long-term impact this will have.”
America is seen as the home of the American Dream, according to Trump’s executive order. Saksena said the initiatives diminish what makes America great when limiting protected diversity efforts.
“America is unique in the world because of its diversity,” Saksena said. “When people with different ideas come together, they discover new and wonderful things. And I think pushing back on DEI is forgetting what makes America unique.”
