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SALT LAKE CITY — As some Utah lawmakers mull legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the state's public universities, another contingent is bracing for a battle to safeguard the initiatives, an increasing focus of debate across the nation.
"I feel Utah is trying to out-Florida Florida right now," said Utah Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, alluding to a measure signed into law last May in that state meant to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Though specific legislative proposals in Utah haven't yet publicly emerged, she and Utah Rep. Angela Romero anticipate diversity, equity and inclusion programs will be a target of Republican lawmakers in the 2024 session. Given Gov. Spencer Cox's critical statements last week aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Utah's universities, Riebe said, "how could they not be?"
Romero, D-Salt Lake City, called the remarks by Cox, a Republican, "troubling." She'll speak out in defense of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives if they face dismantling, as they have in other states, including Florida and Texas.
"Definitely, of course, because I'm a product of DEI programs in Utah," she said. Such programs, at a basic level, are meant to help students of color and members of other groups that have faced marginalization as they navigate college, proponents say.
As a first-generation college student in her family and woman of color, Romero, who is Hispanic, said a precursor initiative to the University of Utah's current diversity, equity and inclusion programming helped her when she studied at the university. "I survived college because of the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs," she said. She called the center "a place where I felt supported, where I could talk about things."
Utah Sen. John Johnson, R-North Ogden, told KSL.com last week after Cox's comments that he and other lawmakers have been working on initiatives aimed at such programs. He wouldn't offer specifics since the legislation is still being crafted, but he and other critics view diversity, equity and inclusion programs as unfairly benefitting one group, students of color, at the expense of others. It's not that minority students shouldn't get assistance, the critics maintain, but that the help shouldn't be based on race or ethnicity.
At a more practical level, Cox charged that diversity, equity and inclusion programs, though perhaps well-intentioned, haven't helped boost graduation rates among students of color.
Utah Rep. Katy Hall, R-South Ogden, singled out what she called "litmus tests" required of Utah universities and state agencies, referring to "diversity statements" that Cox assailed in his comments last week against such programming. The critics haven't specified what exactly "diversity statements" are, but Hall said she's planning legislation taking aim at them after delving into the matter over the past year in consultation with the Cox administration, other lawmakers, professors, community advocacy groups and others.
"While the details of the legislation are still being worked through, I have received great feedback and positive support from state and university employees, legislative leadership and colleagues," Hall said in a message to KSL.com. Parallel to defunding diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Florida lawmakers approved legislation earlier this year that prohibits public institutions from "requiring students, faculty or staff to take political loyalty tests," the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement last May.
Amid the criticism diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are facing, Romero and Riebe touted what they believe to be their value.
Students of color and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds can face subtle and not-so-subtle "hurdles" in the education system that others of higher socioeconomic status don't, Riebe said. She pointed to wording and language in tests used in the educational process, among other things, as well as mindsets in some lower-income communities that seem to bode against post-secondary education.
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs serve to counter those sorts of disadvantages, she said, and are about "creating a level playing field."
Romero sees the initiatives targeting that programming as coming from outside of the state. "I personally don't feel like this is original thought and it's coming from national conservative organizations," she said.
She also offered up a defense of "diversity statements," saying they aren't meant to demonstrate that their authors are politically "woke," or of a progressive mindset, which is how she believes critics view them. Rather, they serve a practical purpose in helping make sure their authors are cognizant of the needs and distinct attributes of "different cultures."
More generally, Romero said, diversity, equity and inclusion programming, by helping students advance in their education, can boost their economic prospects, thus boosting the state's well-being. "It provides opportunities for us. In turn, it changes the whole dynamics of our families," she added.
