Almost one in two students don’t want DEI forced on them in higher ed

A study has revealed that a large proportion of students oppose Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates. 

The study published by College Rover on Nov. 6 surveyed “1,000 American college students, exploring whether DEI programs build bridges or inadvertently widen divides,” and found that “2 in 5 students have taken a class that focused on race, gender, or identity, and 54% believe these classes should be mandatory for all students.”

The remaining 46 percent, however, disagreed with forcing such classes on the student body. 

[RELATED: STURGE: The death of DEI started in 2024 and will accelerate in 2025]

Bill Townsend, who founded College Rover, told Fox News that such students “may feel apprehensive about enforced participation, viewing it as limiting personal choice or ideological freedom.”

The study also found that “1 in 10 students feel uncomfortable discussing race, gender, or sexual identity in class, mainly due to the fear of being judged or misunderstood.”

DEI has been coming under increasing criticism in higher education, with critics alleging that it promotes division and anger instead of supposedly helping inclusivity. 

A Rutgers University report, for example, recently revealed that DEI initiatives may lead to increased discord specifically among those it is meant to make more tolerant and accepting. 

[RELATED: Ohio could pass comprehensive college DEI ban in 2025]

The report claimed that “[a]cross all groupings, instead of reducing bias, [DEI trainings] engendered a hostile attribution bias (Epps & Kendall, 1995), amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice.”

More states have been taking aim at DEI and passing or introducing legislation banning or otherwise limiting the ideology. 

Campus Reform has reached out to College Rover for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.