Princeton takes down DEI staff page after Rufo riducule

Princeton University has removed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff page from its website after being scrutinized online by conservative activist Christopher Rufo.

The New Jersey-based Ivy League school is also offering several steps of “support” to its “DEI practitioners” after Rufo posted to X and criticized the office profiles on Dec. 7. 

[RELATED: University president claims DEI efforts are at the ‘core’ of the purpose of higher ed]

Rufo’s original post highlighted the profile pictures of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) staff, which included each member’s preferred pronouns. Some of the pictured pronouns were “they/them,” “she/they,” “they/he,” and “no pronouns.” 

“Imagine this department governing what you can think, say, and do,” Rufo said.

This is Princeton University’s DEI office. Pronouns include: “they/them,” “she/they,” “they/he,” and, my favorite, “no pronouns.” Imagine this department governing what you can think, say, and do. pic.twitter.com/9HaRTUEJkv

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 7, 2023

In response, Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Michele Minter told The Daily Princetonian that, “We have been in touch with those affected by this incident to offer support.”

“We are considering additional steps to protect DEI practitioners who are unfairly being targeted for the excellent work that they do,” she noted.

One of those additional steps seems to have been deleting the web page Rufo shared. On Dec. 20, Rufo posted an update observing that the page had been removed from Princeton’s website.

Rufo added: “Sorry, Princeton, ‘they/them,’ ‘she/they,’ ‘they/he,’ and ‘no pronouns’ are all fake categories and should be ridiculed as such. No apologies.”

After I tweeted a picture of Princeton’s DEI website, university officials deleted the page and mobilized psychological support resources “to protect DEI practitioners.” They’re scared of their own reflection—and want to impose their dismal ideology on everyone else. pic.twitter.com/r0kbj3kRUi

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 20, 2023

In addition to removing the main DEI staff profile page, the university has also removed three individual profile pages as well. At the time of the publication, Eric Anglero, Jes Norman, and M.J. Scafiro’s profiles were behind the university’s authentication wall and could not be accessed publicly. 

According to The Daily Princetonian on Dec. 19, Minter has also since reaffirmed the university’s support for DEI. “Princeton will not back away from the important work of community building and creating fair experiences that are at the heart of DEI,” she said.

[RELATED: More colleges are seeking to institutionalize DEI through rubrics, diversity statements]

Princeton’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Princeton describes its mission as “supporting and challenging all undergraduate and graduate students by facilitating co-curricular experiences and learning about identity, inclusion, equity, and social justice education.”

Campus Reform contacted Princeton and the ODI staff listed in Rufo’s post for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.