Following a new resolution, LSU will assess all diversity programs and eliminate those that provide preferential treatment
The Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors voted last week to order a review of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and eliminate some DEI practices within the school.
The resolution requires the university to review all programs “in which classifications are maintained based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, political views or national origin,” the Louisiana Illuminator reported.
It requires the elimination of “any preferential treatment in violation of the rule of law outlined by” the U.S. Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which found that considering race in college admissions is unconstitutional.
Further, the resolution bans all DEI statements in hiring and requires school administrators to notify the board within 90 days of all programs or positions that will be removed.
“LSU looks for intellectually curious and academically gifted students to be admitted to our school no matter their race, ethnicity or financial background,” Chairman Jimmie Woods said in a statement after the meeting.
“Today the board adopted a resolution to codify as policy the principles outlined by the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.
The resolution passed without any objections. However, nearly all black board members walked out of the meeting before the vote took place, WBRZ reported.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated the board’s decision in a post on X Friday.
“This move by the LSU Board of Supervisors is a huge step in the right direction, and I am eager to see other Louisiana colleges follow suit. College admission in Louisiana will be based on MERIT,” he wrote.
Louisiana passed a bill earlier this year requiring all schools to report their DEI spending. Meanwhile, Sen. Alan Seabaugh is working to pass a bill to ban all DEI initiatives.
Growing evidence shows that campus leaders are simply rebranding DEI initiatives to sidestep bans, as previously reported by The College Fix.
“Think your legislature successfully ‘shut down’ DEI programs at state universities? Not so fast. As the University of Wyoming reveals, DEI isn’t gone — it’s rebranding under new names,” Scott Yenor, senior director of state coalitions at the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life, posted on X.
Similarly, following Landry’s election last fall, LSU rebranded its diversity office. Previously known as the Division of Inclusion, Civil Rights and Title IX, it is now called the Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX.
MORE: DEI is ‘compatible with academic freedom,’ AAUP says
IMAGE: LSU Board of Supervisors/Youtube
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