The discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion is whipping me.
On January 21st, the day after the inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for all federal agencies to “fight against the preferences, mandates, policies, programs and activities of illegal private sector DEIs.” I did.
The White House then directed federal agencies to leave employees who played the role, including those who simply participated in diversity training.
On February 14, Trump’s education department issued a letter from “dear colleagues” declaring “loathing” all racially aware preferences and activities on university campuses, unless closed within 14 days. He threatened to withdraw federal funds.
Everything seemed to be heading in the anti-DEI direction until Friday, when the sudden turnover took place. US District Judge Adam Abelson temporarily blocked Trump’s anti-DEI directives, claiming they were unconstitutional and ambiguous and could violate the First Amendment.
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82% of Americans agree that racial diversity benefits the country
For me, one of the saddest parts of rancor on Dei is that it obscures the basic truth. The vast majority of Americans believe that diversity in our country is exciting.
A recent study found that researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that 82% of Americans agreed to statements such as “racial diversity benefits the country.”
In his beautiful memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vice President JD Vance revealed that he feels he has also been enriched by diversity.
Referring to his favourite course at Yale Law School, Vance wrote: An ambitious civil rights lawyer born minutes from the campus in Phoenix, Yale, and a very progressive lesbian humor with a great sense. ”
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Vance characterized the class not only as a great learning environment, but also as a group that became “a kind of family” for him.
All university students need to have that experience. All campuses must be in that environment.
Certainly, one of the reasons why our system of higher education is one of the world’s vy hopes is to bring people of diverse identities and diverse ideological abilities into a community of knowledge production and professional preparation.
Why is pluralism patriotism?
Such an environment must not simply be curated, but rather deliberately. This means that universities need experts who excel in growing campus communities characterized by pluralism.
Developed by American thinkers in the early 20th century, pluralism is an intellectual tradition that recognizes that certain identities give meaning to people’s lives and energize our democracy.
Horace Cullen was famous for opposing assimilation. He believed that America was more orchestra-like than a melting pot. He was proud of his Jewish culture. He called it Hebrism and wanted to be able to express it openly.
Alan Locke, a friend of Karen, a classmate at both Harvard and Oxford, was heavily influenced by Karen’s ideas of cultural pluralism. He applied it to his own African-American tradition and became a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance.
John Dewey agreed that it would be positive to encourage diverse identities to share their culture. Picking up Karen’s orchestra’s epiphor, he wanted a diverse group of cultural groups to bring their instruments to the stage. However, Dewey pointed out to Karen, “Depending on the conditions, we really get a symphony and don’t get a lot of different instruments playing at the same time.”
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For pluralism to work, it had to focus on more than just the representation of diverse identities. We needed experts to work together.
The university campus is a mini national stage. It is the perfect environment for different groups to improve with instruments, take them to a common space and learn to play together in harmony.
Every campus needs a team of pluralist experts who can support students of a variety of identities, including Democrats and Republicans, Jews and Muslims, Northern and Southerns, pacifists and proud veterans. is.
Furthermore, pluralism experts must be particularly good at promoting cooperation between these groups, especially those with deep disagreements. Polarized countries should be able to look to their campuses and see models of civic dialogue and active engagement.
If there is conflict between identity groups on the other side of the world, the campus must be where there is constructive conversation between the diaspora communities here.
The diversity work done in this way should make Americans proud of their country. In other words, pluralism is patriotism. It sees American diversity as a treasure, and its identity is superior to division as a source of pride and cooperation.
Stop fighting Day. Let’s start to realize that diversity can be unified rather than division. Let’s work to create the pluralism of the university’s campus model.
Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith America, an organization that works with university campuses on the Diversity program.