Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs have become a hot-topic issue, and even students and faculty at Troy University are torn about the issue.
Even amid political controversy, Troy University’s SGA recently honored DEI week, including with a Unity Walk.
Brayden Varnado, a biomedical science major from Huntsville, Alabama, is the current DEI chair for SGA.
“I think it was an important event to do because it shows that people of different backgrounds can get together, walk together and publicly show that there are things that we can all agree on and things we can do together to better improve our community,” Varnado said. “I think in this day and age specifically, there’s a lot of controversy and polarizing sides to situations in general.
“Being involved with something like that shows that not everybody is going to have the same ideas or is from the same background.”
The Alabama State Senate and Legislature have now passed a bill, placing a ban and prohibitions on specific DEI-related events and programs from taking place at college campuses and public schools.
The bill’s main intent is to prevent and minimize any guilt-tripping, blame or superiority complex that may be put on any specific race, religion, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or income level. However, others believe the bill prevents universities from making their campuses feel more welcoming.
Alabama Governor, Kay Ivey, who signed the recent law to ban DEI, stated her reasoning for this law in a press release.
"My administration has and will continue to value Alabama's rich diversity, however, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses – or whatever else for that matter – to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe."
Ivey stated her confidence in the benefits that this newly signed bill will achieve.
"Supporting academic freedom, embracing diversity of cultures and backgrounds and treating people fairly are all key components of what we believe in Alabama, and I am more than confident that will continue."
Troy University already did not have an official DEI program before the bill, but many organizations across campus prioritize it.
“I think that DEI is significant in the fact that it pushes us to see other people’s backgrounds and points of view on different things,” Varnado said. “It forces us to have more of an understanding of what people have been through and how different things affect different people.”
Along with the unity walk, SGA held events that included hand painting on the quad, on-campus interviews and a diversity trivia night.
Varnado expressed how these DEI week events could greatly impact students.
“That was to kind of show that you can do anything, believe in anything, but everybody has a part in diversity and no matter who you are or what you look like, you’re a different person,” Varnado said. “It’s important for helping us better understand each other and hopefully limit the extent to which arguments occur, especially when it comes to topics like race or religion or political orientation.”
Varnado stated SGA’s main intent of these events was to try and introduce people to different, varying topics and get students to see how some things we already think about or preconceive aren’t exactly what we think they might be.
The DEI bill will officially take effect beginning October 1for all colleges and public schools in the state of Alabama.
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