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Oklahoma Must Stop Forcing Students into DEI Classes

February 11, 2025
President Donald Trump has demolished federal subsidies for radical “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programming. But until state lawmakers in Oklahoma act as well, students will still be forced to take courses intended to indoctrinate them in the poisonous ideology behind DEI.
Oklahoma’s public universities are not immune from the destructive effects of DEI. In December 2023, Governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order prohibiting discriminatory DEI programs at public universities in Oklahoma. President Trump’s recent executive orders targeted these discriminatory practices at the federal level. But despite these welcome actions, DEI still maintains a strong and toxic presence in Oklahoma’s universities through course requirements that force students into politicized DEI courses simply to obtain a degree.
For example, Oklahoma State University (OSU) mandates that all undergraduates take one course in the category of “Diversity.” Students fulfilling this requirement are expected to “reflect on identity through an examination of one or more underrepresented groups (e.g. racial, ethnic … gender … sexual orientation) in present day United States.” Students must also “critically analyze theories and systems of cultural, societal, political, or economic power.”
Read the rest of the op-ed in Muskogee Politico.
Timothy K. Minella is a Senior Fellow at the Goldwater Institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy.

 

 

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