Kansas State University continues to promote “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) policies under another name, a report by The Lion — the media arm of the Herzog Foundation — said recently.
According to The Lion, Kansas State Academic Advisor Lindsey Thyer reassured a “student,” who was actually an undercover journalist, that DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – still exists at the school and removing it would be “not quality education.”
“I’ve learned that the philosophy here is like, while they are saying that they’re going to take it away like changing the name of things, they’re still doing it,” she revealed. “Not quite as bad as some other schools but we’re definitely, yeah.”
This would appear to be in direct violation of Senate Bill 125, passed last year, requiring state agencies — to include public schools and state universities — to eliminate all DEI positions, programs, training, the use of state funds for DEI and the removal of gender ideology such as pronouns from employee email signatures.
K-State defines DEI as “intended to intentionally give preference to individuals or groups, to the exclusion of others, on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”
Accuracy in Media conducted the undercover investigation videoing Thyer’s comments.
According to AIM, she referenced a course focused on diverse learners and indicated uncertainty about whether legislative action could affect its future. She also commented on discussions occurring in other academic departments, saying she found it “refreshing” that a student studying world politics was learning about “the worst presidency ever.”
According to The Lion, Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette was recently on KCMO Radio host Pete Mundo’s show and said he initially started with an investigation in K-12 schools that were supposed to be banning critical race theory.
“Not surprisingly, administrator after administrator would brag to us about how they break the law, deceive parents, trick parents, circumvent the law,” he said. “And when these DEI bans went into effect I figured, well gosh – if these K-12 principals and administrators who kind of have to answer to the parents aren’t following the law – the unaccountable radicals of higher ed, I bet they’re totally ignoring it.”
Guillette then decided to investigate schools in red states with DEI bands and visited several Kansas Universities and promised more videos of higher education non-compliance are coming.
“Kansas was the one I was perhaps most looking forward to because you have perhaps the second-best DEI ban in the country, much stronger than many of the other ones,” Guillette told Mundo.
Kansas Law still allows DEI in curricula so educators may not actually be breaking the law. Florida’s law bans DEI in curricula as well.
Kansas schools and colleges have been flouting DEI ban all along
The Sentinel has also found multiple instances of DEI still being a part of universities and schools in the United States.
A three-credit-hour course being offered at the University of Kansas, entitled “Angry White Males Studies,” is raising eyebrows as the class appears to be in conflict with recent Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) directives aimed at eliminating the emphasis on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in college and university operations.
HUM 365. Angry White Male Studies. 3 Credits:
“This course charts the rise of the “angry white male” in America and Britain since the 1950s, exploring the deeper sources of this emotional state while evaluating recent manifestations of male anger. Employing interdisciplinary perspectives this course examines how both dominant and subordinate masculinities are represented and experienced in cultures undergoing periods of rapid change connected to modernity as well as to rights-based movements of women, people of color, homosexuals and trans individuals. (Same as AMS 365, HIST 364 and WGSS 365.)”
Last year, The Sentinel also reported that Johnson County Community College had announced the closure of it’s Office of Inclusion and Belonging soon after receiving the “Dear Colleague Letter” from the U.S. Department of Education reiterating its opposition to racial discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The letter included a veiled threat to educational institutions at all levels that non-compliance with Title VI could threaten federal funding.
However, audio of a Zoom meeting obtained by The Sentinel, JCCC President Judy Korb said the change did “not change our mission” and “We will focus on those actions that create a positive environment rather than on labels or words that could be misconstrued.”
Most recently, four school districts in Kansas have found themselves under investigation by the United States Department of Education for having policies and practices that permit students to participate in sports and access intimate facilities based on “gender identity” rather than biological sex. These policies also prevent school officials from disclosing a student’s “transgender status” to their parents without the student’s consent. These policies and practices potentially violate Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).”
Moreover, the Kansas State Department of Education has refused to say if they will issue guidance for schools to comply with a recent United States Supreme Court decision prohibiting “socially transitioning” students without informing parents.
