UNC Wilmington students protest against removal of DEI positions
‘What was their mindset when they made this decision?’ one student asked.
The decision follows a May vote by the Board of Governors to cut down DEI spending and programs throughout the UNC system.
Students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington conducted a protest to critique the university’s decision to remove DEI positions.
Almost 20 people were involved in the Aug. 30 protest. During the demonstration, students held signs and chanted pro-DEI slogans such as “No diversity without inclusion” and “DEI is for all students.”
One student accused the school administration of being unthinking in its decision to remove DEI, claiming it is negatively impacting minorities on campus.
[RELATED: Mississippi public universities rebrand diversity offices as neighboring state takes action to cut DEI divisions]
“What was their mindset when they made this decision?” asked UNC Wilmington student Jada Mathewson. “Did they think about how it would affect the minority students?”
Mathewson contended that the DEI positions removed by UNC Wilmington’s policy change were essential to the university.
“These positions were pivotal,” Mathewson stated. “Now it’s only one director for each. The cultural centers won’t be able to put on all the events — or do half the things — they used to.”
“They should have never taken them away from us,” another student said about the DEI positions. “I feel like it’s gotten to the point that they’re trying to make us feel weaker as a community.”
This August, UNC Wilmington shuttered its DEI office in adherence to a university system-wide policy revision. The announcement was published on Aug. 8, with UNC Wilmington Chancellor Aswani Volety detailing the university’s decision.
“Based on policy requirements and consistent with System Office guidance,” Volety wrote, “UNCW will close the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI), eliminate the Chief Diversity Officer position and shift the cultural and identity centers from OIDI to Student Affairs.”
[RELATED: University of New Mexico department offers ‘JEDI’ pledge for students to commit to combatting ‘oppression’]
UNC Wilmington’s changes came after a May vote by the UNC system’s Board of Governors to crack down on DEI and stop its spread throughout UNC campuses.
In June, the UNC’s system’s legal division instructed all UNC schools to provide information showing how they have complied with the anti-DEI mandate.
“The actual work of the University must return to advancing the academic success of students with different backgrounds not different political causes — job titles and responsibilities should follow suit,” the legal division wrote.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of North Carolina Wilmington for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
