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Week in Review—George Will: America is sick of it

February 14, 2025

The mainstream media—and the American left—appear to be in a panic over the Trump Administration’s move to slash billions in wasteful government spending and the fraudulent use of taxpayer dollars. In the Washington Post this week, columnist George Will cited one example of spending that Americans have had enough of—and that the Goldwater Institute uncovered.

“The country is heartily sick of illegal racial discrimination and unconstitutional compelled speech that is the diversity, equity and inclusion industry (which, per a Goldwater Institute report, costs $1.8 billion in education alone every four years),” Will wrote.

Where’s that money going? Goldwater uncovered that 74 public university campuses across 30 states—together serving over 1.4 million full-time undergraduate students—have a DEI course requirement for all undergraduates. Add up those mandatory course credits, and you arrive at a nearly $2 billion price tag. And this doesn’t include the over $1 billion in federal grant funding that has been distributed by the U.S. Department of Education to promote DEI in K-12 schools and universities in the past four years alone, as reported by Parents Defending Education.

Read Will’s column here and Goldwater’s report here.

 

Why is pride in America plummeting?

Fewer and fewer Americans, sadly, are proud to be an American. The number who say they are “extremely proud” has dropped from 70% after 9/11 to just over 41% today, according to Gallup. What, exactly, is happening in our country?

It might have something to do with the fact that schools are indoctrinating students with the perverse perspective that our country is inherently corrupt, that the American Dream is no longer for everyone, or that our country’s greatest advocates for liberty are master manipulators with ulterior motives.

In a new interview this week, Tyler Bonin, the Civics Education Specialist at the Goldwater Institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy, appeared on the Steve Gruber Show to discuss this disturbing trend and how the Goldwater Institute is working to re-instill hope—and a love for America—in school curricula.

Watch his interview here.

 

North Carolina Eliminates DEI Indoctrination

Add North Carolina to the list of states that are acting to ensure students do not have to undergo DEI indoctrination just to graduate from a public university. This reform takes a giant step toward eliminating the DEI scourge in higher education and restoring universities to their core missions of education and research.

The Board of Governors, which oversees all public universities in North Carolina, recently removed all general education and program requirements that forced students to take DEI courses. Also, North Carolina is following several other states—including Iowa, Oklahoma, and Arizona—that are advancing Goldwater’s Freedom from Indoctrination Act, a landmark reform that prohibits mandatory DEI course requirements in public universities.

Read the latest from Timothy K. Minella, Senior Fellow at the Goldwater Institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy.

 

 

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