Utah

Utah law targeting DEI leads university to close LGBT, women’s centers

Published

2 years ago

June 29, 2024

Utah law targeting DEI leads university to close LGBT, women’s centers

When Becket Harris started college at the University of Utah, the school’s LGBT center quickly became the most important spot on campus for her — a place where she studied, made friends and never had to worry about how people would react to learning she was transgender.

Harris, 20, was devastated to learn this week that the center is closing — along with one for students from underrepresented racial and religious communities and another for women — in response to a new state law that rolls back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in public schools and universities.

“What am I going to do without my space on campus? How’s my friend group going to stay together?” said Harris, who finished her sophomore year this spring. “It’s attacking a space that’s very personal to me.”

Across Utah, public schools, universities and government agencies must make shifts to comply with the law, which goes into effect Monday. The state becomes the latest where Republican legislators have restricted DEI programs, amid a broader conservative effort to limit what is taught in schools and make diversity programs a flash point in the nation’s political debate.

Laws in other states have forced some universities to eliminate programs and jobs and, more commonly, to change hiring practices, such as ending requirements for diversity statements from job candidates. Some type of change to diversity requirements or programs has been made at 164 college campuses in 23 states since January 2023, according to a tally by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

At the University of Utah, administrators said they have had less than two months — the bill was passed in January, but the state higher education office’s guidance about how to comply with the law came down in May — to make final decisions about how to reorganize their staff and services. The school won’t lose its student services and will continue holding cultural events, but complying with the law will require a significant change in approach, administrators said.

“This definitely is having a profound impact,” said Lori McDonald, vice president for student affairs.

The Utah law labeled services for different communities — racial, ethnic, religious, gender-based or sexuality-based — as “discriminatory.”

Although it left their funding in place, it effectively directed schools to reorganize those services, such as mental health, career and scholarship help, under generalized campus centers catering to all students. Furthermore, the state’s guidance indicated those services couldn’t operate in centers that also did cultural programming.

At the University of Utah, school officials said that means closing its specialized centers in favor of two umbrella offices: one for all cultural programming and another for all student services. The school’s Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has been eliminated. About 45 staff were affected, many of whom will be reassigned to the two new centers.

“This is not the path we would have chosen,” University Provost Mitzi Montoya wrote in a note to deans and faculty Thursday. “But … it is our calling to rise to the challenges of the day and find a better way forward.”

On Friday, a farewell was planned for the university’s LGBT Resource Center, which asked supporters to “join us to laugh, cry and celebrate” its 21-year run. An Instagram post advertising the goodbye party drew dozens of comments and broken-heart emojis.

“I’m starting school in the fall and am so upset this won’t be a resource for our community,” one person wrote. Another said, “Every single person in this building made me feel at home.”

Added a third, “I found support here [when] there was nowhere else.”

Along with the LGBT Resource Center, the university’s Women’s Resource Center and the Center for Equity and Student Belonging will close. Both the women’s center and the Center for Equity and Student Belonging, previously known as an ethnic student affairs center, had been in operation for more than 50 years, Montoya noted.

The law doesn’t mandate the closure of student centers, allowing them to stay open as cultural centers as long as they don’t also provide student services. Utah state Rep. Katy Hall (R), the bill’s House sponsor, said some universities had chosen to close centers “to better meet the goals” of the law.

The idea of leaving the centers open without providing the services they were created to house felt disingenuous, McDonald said, and university officials weren’t sure enough staff would be left to run them after some employees move to the student services center.

The university plans to keep its Black cultural center open; staff are working on how it will operate under the law as a gathering place, McDonald said. Those plans will have to be approved by the state, university officials said.

The law does not affect classroom instruction, academic freedom or academic research, the Utah System of Higher Education said in its guidance.

This spring, lawmakers in Alabama and Iowa passed similar bills to restrict DEI programs, and Wyoming removed state funding for the state university’s DEI office, forcing its closure. In mid-June, Republican members of Congress introduced a bill proposing to end all federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs and pull funding from government agencies, schools and others with DEI programs.

The law’s passage in Utah played to the more conservative wing of a divided Republican Party, said Michael Lyons, a political science professor at Utah State University. In an election year, Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and other GOP lawmakers faced the need to win over party delegates in Utah’s caucus-based nominating process.

“It’s not surprising to see them take very conservative positions,” he said.

Upon signing the bill, Cox said it offered a “balanced solution” by repurposing funding “to help all Utah students succeed regardless of their background.” His office did not respond to a request for comment from The Post this week.

Hall, the bill’s sponsor, said on the House floor that the measure came about because she had heard “serious concerns about the landscape at our higher education institutions” from “students and many professors.”

“I hope that students who benefited from these centers in the past know that the expectation is that they will still be able to receive the services and support that they need to succeed,” Hall told The Post.

Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero (D) said she feared the bill would end up erasing people and identities, noting in a floor debate that she might not have succeeded at the University of Utah if not for the support of the ethnic students’ center. Free-speech advocates have also said such laws have a chilling and censoring effect on campuses.

Utah State University said this month it would reassign programs and clubs that had been housed under the school’s Inclusion Center and would ensure that its Latinx Cultural Center and a proposed Native American center comply with the law. The school said it would create a new center for community and cultural matters. Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, has closed its Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and identity-based centers and reorganized staff positions.

At the University of Utah, where staff members are still working out plans for the new centers, Harris, the student, remembered the LGBT center as a cozy place that made college much easier — and worried about what the changes might mean for future students.

“I could just walk into a space,” Harris said, “and I knew that everyone there was safe to talk to.”

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Utah

Utah football: Previewing the 2026 schedule with a look at Utah State, Iowa State – East Idaho News

Published

6 hours ago

June 1, 2026

Press Room

Utah football: Previewing the 2026 schedule with a look at Utah State, Iowa State – East Idaho News

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — It’s officially under 100 days until Utah football kicks off its 2026 season.

Last week, we highlighted the first two games of the schedule, Idaho and Arkansas, and now we’ll continue the schedule series with a look at the last nonconference game, Utah State, and the first game of conference play, Iowa State.

As a reminder, the early part of the schedule lays out nicely for Utah to gradually build upon before hitting the toughest part of its schedule (at least on paper). As mentioned last week, there are challenges early in the schedule and no guarantees; but if Utah really is a Big 12 title contender, then the early part of the schedule should be manageable.

The early sportsbooks have Utah leading the conference (with BYU) with 8.5 wins. And Utah’s next two opponents are projected at or near the bottom of their respective conferences, which bodes well for the potential to pick up two early wins.

Let’s continue our look into the schedule with Game 3 and 4: Utah State and Iowa State.

To see a more thorough breakdown of these games, click on the YouTube video below.

Utah State Aggies

Date: Thursday, Sept. 19 (1:30 p.m. MT, FOX)
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium; Salt Lake City, UT
2025 record: 6-7 (4-4 MWC)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: Sept. 14, 2024 (Utah win, 38-21)
Preseason win projection: 4.5 wins (Bovada)

The “Battle of the Brothers” hasn’t had as much animosity over the years as a certain other rival in the state. But that doesn’t mean either in-state rival will want to give up any ground early in the season.

Utah last played Utah State during its miserable 2024 season, where the Aggies served as just one of Utah’s five wins that season in a come-from-behind victory in Logan. The circumstances of this year’s squad should be better than what Utah encountered in 2024, but the game comes a week after what could be a physical test against Arkansas.

On paper, Utah is the better team, but Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall has prepped enough against the Utes over the years to provide some intrigue in Utah’s final nonconference game of the season. And if the week prior went poorly for Utah, the Aggies will be eager to pounce.

The Aggies have a fair amount of returners to build on from last season but lose several top contributors to make it a challenge — including leading receiver Braden Pagen and offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven to … Utah.

Mendenhall brought back a familiar face in Robert Anae to his coaching staff as the team’s offensive coordinator. The two have been together for more than 15 years over several stops, and that familiarity will certainly help provide some much-needed consistency.

But the Aggies will have to get it done without starting quarterback Bryson Barnes under center. As his replacement, Mendenhall brought back McCae Hillstead to Logan, where he was previously as a freshman before transferring to BYU.

Hillstead hasn’t seen much of the field since leaving Utah State, but will likely be tabbed as the team’s starter. In 2023, Hillstead threw for 1,062 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions on a 59.5% completion percentage for the Aggies. A lot has changed since then, and can Hillstead be the heir apparent to lift the Aggies to new heights under Mendenhall?

Hillstead benefits from three starting interior offensive lineman returning, but will have a fresh set of talent around him, including transfer receivers Javon Robinson (Georgia State), Rex Haynes (Arizona) and Eli Wood (Oklahoma State). Robinson has the most production and will likely be the focal point to Anae’s offense.

To pair the passing attack, senior running back Javen Jacobs returns to lead the charge after rushing for 429 yards and five touchdowns on 65 carries. He also had 379 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season to be an additional threat in Anae’s quick-passing attack.

On defense, the Aggies have at least one veteran player at each level returning, which should provide some consistency from last season; however, the defense was a bit of a liability at times and gave up too much. But could a rebound be in order?

An improved defense with a potent Anae offense could spell trouble if Utah isn’t ready. There’s still enough questions surrounding the makeup of the team to predict an improved season, but Mendenhall is known for getting the most of his teams, especially in rivalry games.

Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Saturday, Sept. 26 (TBA)
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium; Salt Lake City, UT
2025 record: 8-4 (5-4 Big 12)
Final AP ranking: N/A
Last meeting: Nov. 23, 2024 (Iowa State win, 31-28)
Preseason win projection: 5.5 wins (Bovada)

Flip a coin and that will have better odds than trying to predict what this year’s Iowa State team will do. The Cyclones were completely gutted after head coach Matt Campbell left Ames, Iowa, after a decade to take the same job at Penn State.

As such, 55 players — including starting quarterback Rocco Becht — entered the portal following Campbell’s departure. Of those, 23 transferred to Penn State, 11 went to different Big Ten schools and three others went to different Power Four conferences.

No starting player at Iowa State last season is on this year’s roster — hence the prediction from many that Iowa State will finish last in the Big 12 this season.

Iowa State turned to up-and-coming talent Jimmy Rogers as its next head coach, pulling him away after just one season at Washington State. Rogers, though, has limited experience at the FBS level after serving as head coach at South Dakota State from 2023-24, where he was defensive coordinator previously since 2019.

Joining him from Washington State is defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit, who helped the Cougars to the 15th best defense in FBS last season. At offensive coordinator, Rogers pulled Tyler Roehl away from the Detroit Lions after spending one season as the team’s tight ends coach.

Roehl previously spent one season at Iowa State as the team’s running back coach — his only FBS coaching experience — and has only been an offensive coordinator at North Dakota State from 2019-23.

So it’s a coaching staff in the infancy of their FBS tenure, which could provide new blood to the sport as up-and-coming talents or they could be in over their heads. It’s anyone’s guess at this venture — even with sustained success at the FCS level.

To compound the problems, Iowa State is turning over a roster that will have a new face at every position on both sides of the ball. Don’t expect an Indiana-like glow-up in Year 1 for Rogers.

Iowa State did well to recruit quality talent — including projected starting quarterback Jaylen Raynor (Arkansas State) and defensive end Isaac Terrell (Washington State) — but it’s a tall task to strike gold at every position in the first season.

Expect the defense to be further along than the offense early on, due mostly to the three defensive lineman who followed the coaching staff from Washington State. If Bobbit can create anything similar to the success he had last season, the defense may be good enough to keep Iowa State around long enough to do some damage.

But trying to project how it will all shake out for Iowa State is a fool’s errand.