Black and Pacific Islander student groups cut ties with University of Utah over DEI ban
The Black Student Union and Pacific Islander Student Association have disaffiliated from the University of Utah after the university removed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in response to a new state law.
The groups cited restrictive guidelines on political and cultural discussions as the reason for their decision.
Two student organizations have disaffiliated with the University of Utah after the school eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in compliance with a new law in the state.
The two groups to withdraw from the university’s sponsorship are the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA), according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Both groups intend to continue operating independently of the university. “We’ve been running as an organization for 32 years, and we can’t stop there,” explained PISA President ‘Alisi Fihaki.
In June, the university administration sent a letter to BSU and PISA telling them that any events would have to serve an educational goal and that the groups would not be able to officially support political prescriptions that fall outside of the mission of the school.
Additionally, as part of the elimination of DEI programs and policies at the University of Utah, the school administration announced that it would not give funding to student organizations that were based on identity.
The guidelines in place were met with resistance from both PISA and BSU.
“The guideline,” wrote PISA in a statement earlier this year, “includes Institutional Speech, meaning taking no public expression on political and controversial topics such as Anti-Racism, Bias, Critical Race Theory, Implicit Bias, Intersectionality, Prohibited Discriminatory Practices, and Racial Privilege.”
“As an identity, ethnic, and cultural-based organization, we find it contradictory that we are lawfully unable to have conversations around the aforementioned concepts if we remain sponsored,” the post continued. “Our mission and values do not align with the guidelines, and we announce that we are withdrawing sponsorship from the University.”
The group acknowledged that it would forfeit its right to any funding from the university.
The BSU student group also critiqued the guidelines in statements of their own. “We, as the Black community on campus, could not speak about our opinions, our history,” said Sadie Werner, a member of BSU. “It feels dystopian. I can’t talk about it, but I know when you look at me you see a Black woman first.”
“Our community has suffered under the weight of this bill and its destruction from the moment it passed,” the organization stated in an October Instagram post in reaction to Utah’s new anti-DEI legislation.
“In hope of gaining financial support to execute events and outreach material,” the group continued, “the Black Student Union tried to work with the University as a sponsored entity. That avenue only led us to sacrificing the most valuable thing we all own— our voices. Consequently, we are no longer maintaining sponsorship with the university.”
“The University of Utah preserves and defends the rights of all registered student organizations—including the Black Student Union and Young Americans for Freedom—to organize, gather and sponsor events on campus,” university spokesperson Rebecca Walsh told Campus Reform. “Universities are marketplaces of diverse viewpoints and ideas, and that includes within our student clubs.”
“The university supported the Black Student Union reviewing the language in HB 261 as well as guidance from the Utah System of Higher Education and university leaders before determining the best way forward for their organization,” Walsh continued.
