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‘Diversity isn’t always a good thing.’ Kentucky Senate advances limits on DEI programs

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‘Diversity isn’t always a good thing.’ Kentucky Senate advances limits on DEI programs


FRANKFORT – A bill aimed at limiting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and requiring First Amendment training at colleges and universities advanced in the Kentucky legislature Tuesday.

Senate Bill 6, which passed the chamber 26-7 after two hours of debate, would prohibit higher education institutions from requiring students and faculty to “describe the attitude or actions in support of or in opposition to specific ideologies or beliefs” to receive admission, employment, promotions or graduation. The bill also would require First Amendment training at student orientation.

Supporters said on the Senate floor that the bill is meant to protect free speech and promote “intellectual diversity.”

Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, the bill’s main sponsor, said that DEI policies prevent conservative voices from expressing their views on college campuses.

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Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, added that “diversity isn’t always a good thing and being thrown way out of proportion.”

“If I’m being wheeled into the emergency room to have brain surgery … do I look around at the brain surgery team and say ‘woah, is there diversity on this team?’” Schickel said. “No, I want the best darn team in there with the most expertise.”

Conservative states have zoned in on diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI policies, by stopping colleges and universities from using state and federal funds for these programs.  Since 2021, 21 states have introduced legislation that would limit DEI programs on campus, according to an Axios analysis.

Meanwhile, supporters of DEI initiatives say that these programs help foster inclusivity and opportunities for underrepresented minorities.

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The University of Kentucky and University of Louisville both have DEI offices and resources available for students and faculty.

Critics of the bill raised concerns Tuesday that the legislation could harm underrepresented students and result in unintended consequences.

Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, said she fears the bill will hurt faculty retention and recruitment because schools will have difficulty with navigating “vague concepts.”

Chambers Armstrong was referring to a list of “discriminatory concepts” in the bill that aren’t allowed to be included in any training for students or employees.

“I’m concerned about the message it sends to our faculty members and concerned about the way it will impact our ability to recruit and retain faculty members,” she said.

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Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said the bill would hurt the progress Kentucky has made with attracting underrepresented minorities to its colleges and universities.

“My position is that we should not and never as a country move to a color-blind society,” Thomas said. “Instead, we should embrace all people of different clubs, different boards, different languages. … That is the richness of our diversity and differences.”

Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, said SB 6 “isn’t a racial bill and meant to be divisive” and is instead supposed to stop discrimination in higher education.

According to poll results released Tuesday by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the state’s voters believe that institutions and businesses should make their own decisions about DEI programs.

Of the 625 registered Kentucky voters polled, 71% believe that “businesses and institutions should make decisions about DEI education and programs without government interference.” Meanwhile, 26% answered that businesses and institutions should not, and 2% were unsure. 

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Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy conducted the poll between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The bill ended up passing on a party-line vote and now heads to the House.



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Kentucky woman finds human body parts in package shipped to her home

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Kentucky woman finds human body parts in package shipped to her home


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HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (WDKY) — A Kentucky woman got a grisly surprise just days before Halloween when a package containing human body parts showed up at her door.

On Thursday, Oct. 30, the Christian County Coroner Scott Daniel told Nexstar’s WDKY that the body parts she’d received by mistake the previous day were from a cadaver and meant for surgical training, not transplant.

“We never know what kind of call we’re going to get, they’re all over the place, but last night was a little different,” Daniel told radio station WKDZ the following day. “We had a resident here in Hopkinsville who opened the box – it was supposed to be some urgent medical supplies – and when she opened the box she found human arms and fingers.”

The coroner said the woman was “obviously a little shook” after opening the cardboard box, which contained four fingers and two arms, packed in plastic ice packs.

Daniel said the woman called deputies with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, who responded and notified the coroner’s office.

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Officials reportedly took the cadaver parts to the morgue on Wednesday morning and contacted the carrier, making arrangements to get them to their proper destination.

Daniel said the parts were shipped from Nashville and wound up at the wrong address after a courier mix-up, adding that Hopkinsville officials ensured that the woman ultimately received the supplies she was waiting for, according to the Lexington-Herald Leader.



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Kentucky woman receives package of human ‘arms and fingers’ instead of medicine delivery

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Kentucky woman receives package of human ‘arms and fingers’ instead of medicine delivery


A Kentucky woman who was expecting a medicine delivery opened the package only to discover severed human arms and fingers on ice, according to a report.

After receiving the gruesome surprise on Wednesday, the woman called 911 from her home in Hopkinsville, The New York Times reported.

A Kentucky woman who was expecting a regular delivery of her medicine opened the package only to discover severed human arms and fingers on ice. WSMV

“We were expecting a delivery of urgent medication that was flown in on like a Nashville airport thing, and they delivered two boxes,” she said in the 911 call obtained by WSMV.

“We opened one box and it turned out to be human body parts for transplant, like it’s very medicinal,” she continued.

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“We’re trying to know where it goes. We just didn’t want to be in the possession of body parts that don’t belong to us.”

Emergency responders then called in Christian County coroner Scott Daniel to retrieve the two arms and four digits, The Times reported.

Daniel took the limbs to the local morgue, where a courier retrieved them on Thursday. It is not immediately clear what courier delivered the alarming package, the outlet said.

The package full of body parts originated in Nashville and was slated to be delivered to a school or hospital for surgical training, the coroner said.

The body parts in the parcel came from four different bodies, Daniel said.

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The entrance to a "Body Holding" room in a hospital with a news banner about body parts being mailed to a woman.
The package full of body parts originated in Nashville and was slated to be delivered to a school or hospital for surgical training, the coroner said. WSMV

The woman, who was not identified, eventually had her time-sensitive medications and medical supplies delivered a day later, the coroner told the outlet.

“I didn’t ask,” he told the outlet in response to a question about the source of the body parts.

“I mean, I’d assume, obviously, I think they came from cadavers that had been donated.”

The coroner maintained that anyone who finds themselves in a similar gory predicament should call the authorities and avoid any extreme measures, such as refrigerating body parts.

“I think she did the right thing,” Daniel said.

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Auburn has a new starting QB

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Auburn has a new starting QB


Auburn has a new starting quarterback. Ashton Daniels will start against Kentucky on Saturday night, taking over for Jackson Arnold, sources tell AuburnSports.

Daniels, a transfer from Stanford, entered last week’s win over Arkansas and gave the Tigers’ offense a needed spark. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 77 yards and added 35 rushing yards, helping Auburn finish drives (albeit with field goals) and play cleaner football. It was enough for Freeze and his staff to make a change heading into this weekend’s game.

“I think Daniels just, he’s got this maturity and poise about him,” Freeze said after Auburn’s win at Arkansas. “Obviously he’s a college graduate and has played in a lot of big football games, so it’s not going to be something that overwhelms him. I just thought it was time.”

Freeze said on Monday leading into a week of practice that it would be an “open competition” between Daniels and Arnold. Freeze said on Wednesday and Thursday that both quarterbacks prepared and practiced well during the week.

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In three years at Stanford, Daniels threw for almost 4,000 yards, 21 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He added over 1,100 rushing yards and nine scores on the ground.

Arnold opened the season as the starter but struggled with consistency in SEC play. His interception that was returned 89 yards for a touchdown against Arkansas was a turning point. Freeze turned to Daniels, who steadied the offense and helped Auburn snap a four-game SEC losing streak.

Arnold has thrown six touchdowns to only two interceptions this season, but is last in the SEC in yards per game (157), QB rating (122) and yards per attempt (6.1).

The decision marks another chapter in Freeze’s search for stability at quarterback, a position that has rotated through multiple players over his three seasons on the Plains. Payton Thorne manned the position in 2023 and 2024, with flashes of Robby Ashford in Freeze’s first season and Hank Brown earning two starts last season. Now this season, it’s Arnold to Daniels, so far.

Freeze is turning to Daniels hoping to bring steadiness and leadership as Auburn tries to build momentum for the stretch run. The Tigers host Kentucky before traveling to play top 10 Vanderbilt, host Mercer, then host top 10 Alabama to close the regular season.

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