Texas universities secretly implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures despite a statewide ban
Texas Public Universities Find Creative Ways to Maintain DEI Initiatives Despite Statewide Ban
Officials at Texas public universities are quietly working to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs after a statewide ban on the ideology took effect on January 1, according to recently released hidden camera footage. The undercover video, captured by investigators from Accuracy in Media, reveals employees from multiple Texas universities admitting to finding “creative” ways to continue their DEI initiatives while technically complying with the ban.
“We’re not allowed to say ‘DEI’ anymore,” revealed Rachel Ball, assistant director for academic advising at Texas A&M at Galveston. “The new law that just started, so I think they’re calling it — I forget what the stupid title is now, but yeah, it pretty much is, yeah. So, it’s to represent all of the DEI work that we do on this campus. They just rebranded, so we’re still doing the same work. We just can’t call it that.”
The videos confirm previous reporting by the Washington Examiner, which stated that Texas schools were simply rebranding their DEI offices while keeping the ideology alive. Accuracy in Media conducted investigations at 24 campuses across Texas to gain inside perspectives on how schools were responding to the ban.
When asked if there was still a way to continue the DEI work under the new Texas law, Tarecka Payne, the University of Texas at Tyler’s director of student belonging, responded, “No, you can still do it. You just have to be creative. … We carry on. We do the work. I plot and plan.”
Video Exposes Texas University Employees’ Strategies to Defy Ban
The undercover video footage released by Accuracy in Media shows Texas university employees discussing their approach to DEI initiatives after the statewide ban. However, after reviewing the video, Beverley Golden, UT Tyler’s associate vice president for strategic communications media relations, stated that an employee had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Golden emphasized that the university fully complies with all state and federal laws, regardless of what was portrayed in the video.
Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, added, “If and when we verify any noncompliance with state law, the UT System will ensure accountability. The consequences for violations are clear, and under no circumstances will we allow UT institutions to jeopardize state funding that collectively educates more than 250,000 students at our institutions.”
Further confirming the undercover DEI push in Texas was Marcus Brown, Tarleton State University academic coordinator, who agreed that his school could still continue DEI initiatives under a different name, jokingly adding, “I’m not supposed to say that… So, no…”
Kevin Nguyen, University of Houston associate director of student advocacy, described the university’s response as “DEI lite, very lite.” Nguyen explained that his office can promote the ideology through student groups, as long as the DEI initiatives are not officially associated with the office.
Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, stated, “Our investigation revealed that while some public colleges and universities in Texas are following the new law prohibiting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, many school officials have found ways to circumvent it. DEI programs are a cancer that must be rooted out of our institutions, and that will require holding the radical administrators pushing this poisonous ideology accountable.”
Many Texas schools have found loopholes in the state ban by using different terms to achieve the same underlying ideology of DEI. One commonly used term is “belonging.” Joe Posada-Triana, director of underserved students at the University of North Texas at Dallas, confirmed that the same DEI work can continue under the new banner of “belonging.” He explained that the diversity and inclusion task force at his school has simply been rebranded as the “sense of belonging task force.”
Edward Kosowski, director of integrated communications at UNT Dallas, clarified that his school is compliant with the new law and has never had a DEI office. Texas Tech now characterizes its DEI initiatives as “campus access and engagement,” with Jess Sanchez, a student success specialist, explaining that most of the DEI work is continuing under the new department.
Officials from Texas Tech emphasized their commitment to abide by both the letter and spirit of the law, stating that the statements made by employees in the video are “inaccurate and inconsistent.” They further stated that the university will not engage in activities that violate state or federal law.
Some schools responded to the video by pointing out the secret nature of the recordings. Texas A&M University System spokesman Jim Suydam stated that the network takes the implementation of the DEI ban seriously and has established procedures to ensure full compliance with state law.
Click here to read more from the Washington Examiner.
How are Texas universities finding loopholes to continue their DEI initiatives despite the statewide ban?
Ducation, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, many are finding creative loopholes to continue their work. Undercover footage captured by Accuracy in Media shows university employees discussing their strategies to defy the statewide ban on DEI programs. The videos confirm previous reporting by the Washington Examiner, which stated that Texas schools were rebranding their DEI offices while keeping the ideology alive.
Rachel Ball, assistant director for academic advising at Texas A&M at Galveston, revealed that they are no longer allowed to say “DEI” and that they have renamed their initiatives to comply with the ban. However, she admitted that they are still doing the same work, just under a different name. Tarecka Payne, the University of Texas at Tyler’s director of student belonging, also shared that they can still continue their DEI work, but they have to be creative and find alternative ways to do it.
The undercover video footage released by Accuracy in Media shows Texas university employees discussing their approach to DEI initiatives despite the ban. However, after reviewing the video, the University of Texas at Tyler placed an employee on administrative leave pending an investigation. They emphasized that the university fully complies with all state and federal laws.
Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, stated that if there is any noncompliance with state law, the UT System will ensure accountability. The consequences for violations are clear, and they will not allow institutions to jeopardize state funding.
Marcus Brown, an academic coordinator at Tarleton State University, confirmed the undercover DEI push in Texas and admitted that his school could continue their initiatives under a different name, even though he joked that he wasn’t supposed to say that.
Kevin Nguyen, associate director of student advocacy at the University of Houston, described their response as “DEI lite, very lite.” He explained that they can promote the ideology through student groups as long as it is not officially associated with their office.
Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette stated that their investigation revealed that while some public colleges and universities are following the new law prohibiting DEI initiatives, many in Texas are finding ways to continue their work. It remains to be seen how the state will respond to these efforts to maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the face of the ban.
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