Senate Bill 17 is a law passed by the Texas Legislature that was about diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in public universities. The bill went into effect at Texas colleges in January, resulting in faculty and staff being fired this spring.
The passing of this law banned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies designed to remediate histories of discrimination in the United States and Texas against underrepresented minorities and the ability for professors and administrators to foster more inclusive colleges and universities.
Opponents of the law said it will lead to minorities feeling less welcomed by taking away resources that were meant to help provide a more equitable and supportive environment for minority students. There is also the concern that it would make it harder for universities to receive research funding from federal agencies or private organizations that consider commitments to diversity when awarding grants.
We believe that students, especially ones who are first-generation or from minority backgrounds should feel welcomed into colleges, this would be harder to accomplish with this new bill in place. They should feel that even if they are coming into a new place they always have a safe space for their culture. Banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, would not only ruin the potential of people feeling safe on their campuses, it would also run the risk of people of different backgrounds not feeling comfortable applying to certain colleges.
This law will also limit diversity training and restrict hiring departments from asking for diversity statements. These are essays in which job applicants talk about their commitment to building more diverse campuses. This could inevitably end any chance of people with different cultural backgrounds feeling comfortable in pursuing higher education. This could also result in a higher chance of creating discrimination issues in classrooms.
When SB 17 was being debated, Sen. Judith Zaffirini expressed concerns about the DEI bill saying that it would be a giant step back in in out quest for equal opportunity and equal worth for all stating “I worry that stifling diversity, equity and inclusion on our academic campuses … will breed the negative attitudes and behaviors typically attributed to ignoramuses while stifling the development of tolerant, enlightened communities.” Unfortunately, even with her protests Sen. Brandon Creighton brushed past those concerns and decided to push through with the bill stating that they are putting their opinions and beliefs over achievements.
There are arguments that it would make people who are not represented feel less welcome and even hurt efforts to correct past discrimination. Some arguments claim having an office that helps only specific racial groups is discrimination in itself. Statistically, people of color have fewer opportunities or outside help compared to Non-POC.
DEI programs are not about discrimination against white people. It’s about making their resources equitable. This may also halt progress toward making campuses more representative of the state’s population, it would make it harder for universities to receive research funding because they consider commitments to diversity when awarding grants.
We believe that the main problem with SB 17 is that it makes it significantly harder for students to want to apply to colleges if they don’t feel like it would be a welcoming community for them. This is one of the leading factors some students use on deciding on where apply to go college. This law could make it less likely that students will want to attend a college in Texas if they cannot see themselves as welcomed and supported there.
People deserve to feel welcome in their schools of choice — no matter ethnicity, culture, or background.
