Letter: University of Alaska regents didn’t consider ramifications of DEI action

The Board of Regents of the University of Alaska has put the institution in a very difficult position. The university depends on federal money for grants and programming, so is under extreme pressure to comply with the demand to ban the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandated by President Trump. If the university doesn’t comply then it may lose the funding it needs to survive. At issue is the fact that banning words is a form of censorship that has no place in an educational institution. The university is in a perilous position and the administration must, at the very least, determine what is lost by complying.

The banning or re-naming of specific programs that address diversity, equity, and inclusion is a major course change in how the institution attempts to meet the different needs of faculty and students. It is a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn’t reflect the needs of the population. In addition to the programmatic demands on services for a diverse population, the banning of the actual words in official university documents and by the implied extension to research and teaching, this is a direct attack on academic freedom that we recognize as the basis of research and learning.

The principles that diversity, equity and inclusion reference are central to an understanding of history, anthropology, psychology, sociology and many other disciplines. Dismissing them from the conversation has implications for how we understand our history and its lessons for the present. We fought a Civil War; we passed an equal rights amendment; we supported disability rights; and with Title IX, we ensured that women were not discriminated against in education. The history of these efforts is part of the fabric of America and any attempt to restrict free discussion of these concepts is a move away from democracy to authoritarianism. The Board of Regents’ policy statement sends an unclear warning about just how far their policy extends to classroom teaching, faculty research and publication but it certainly places a damper that will be felt in the classroom, and this is just wrong.

[Earlier coverage: University of Alaska to review programs, strike DEI language in response to Trump administration warning]

[Earlier coverage: Students and faculty rebuke University of Alaska regents’ decision to strike DEI language, review programs]

University administration is struggling to find ways to replace the terms and still maintain the principles they embody and that is understandable and commendable, but we must not lose the concepts embodied in the terms and phrases. When we delete these words we lose a history of meaning. I think of terms from the Declaration of Independence, “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, words that many of us memorized as kids because of how central they were to the founding fathers and how the phrase has been referenced in past struggles, and of course its application to the current conundrum over diversity, equity, and inclusion. While the principles it promotes have not always been fairly applied to all, the concept has remained a cornerstone of our society because of its historic roots and relevance. This is also true with DEI, and It is a travesty to ignore the lessons of its history.

I understand that the Board of Regents felt urgency to act quickly to comply, but I think it is clear they did not consider the full impact. Public discussion might have led to a more nuanced response about what was demanded and what would be lost. To many of us, they seem to have just complied with the president’s personal views and left the university administration to pick up the pieces. Now, the university’s job is to go beyond the question of how to comply; they must explore and document the impact of this censorship on academic freedom and the educational mission.

— William S Schneider, Fairbanks

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