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Colleges Making Sure Indoctrination of Students Is Complete by Requiring DEI Classes to Graduate

AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

It's a scenario many parents face today. They send little Johnny off to State U in August, and little Johnny comes home at Thanksgiving with pink hair and a nose ring, and wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt. What is going on at America's colleges and universities? Well, indoctrination pure and simple. There may have been a time when institutions of higher learning tried to hide it. It was all very subtle and understated. Not anymore; the leftist agenda at universities is out there for all the world to see...

 And as several states have passed laws to curb indoctrination, the universities may have found a way around it.

Speech First is a pro-free speech advocacy organization. They recently took a survey of 248 colleges and universities around the nation. The results are not surprising. The survey found that 67 percent of those schools required some sort of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) coursework that would “satisfy general education requirements" to graduate. The Speech First report goes on to say that students who take these classes are “subjected to courses advocating far-left ideological perspectives and pushing far-left political advocacy."

The classes that fall under the DEI requirement umbrella are also about what you might expect. The topics include social justice, activism, intersectionality, Marxism (here's my shocked face), LGBTQ+, racism, ableism, and feminism, just to name a few. 

So, if you are looking for the school with the biggest DEI class bang for your buck, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has an offering entitled, “Queer Kinship: Undoing the American Family." A quick description of the class states that the traditional American family “only exists within U.S. mythology built on imperialism and settler colonialism." For a bit more hands-on approach, Boston University's offering seems to get right to the point. That class is called “Social and Racial Justice: Advocacy and Action." One of the requirements to pass this class: students must participate “in rallies or protests as part of the curriculum.”

If you thought private universities might be exempt from the DEI juggernaut, think again. Loyola Marymount University, a Catholic university, offers up something called "Bad Catholics." The description of this DEI equivalent to Underwater Basket Weaving 101 says that it "explores the writings of 'Black,' 'Queer,' and 'Latinx' theologians," so the student may better understand “the role that dissent plays in the creative development of Catholic teaching."


Cherise Trump is the Executive Director for Speech First. She pointed out the very obvious, saying,

Requiring students to take DEI courses in order to receive a diploma stifles genuine diversity of thought and undermines the principles of academic freedom. When students are indoctrinated and coerced to this level, civic engagement dies.

DEI may be dying a slow death. In May of 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that banned state funding for DEI programs at the state's public universities. Not long after in June of 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that banned DEI offices at public colleges and universities. However, change in the classroom may be a little slower. In January 2024, the Florida Board of Education removed a sociology class from a list of general education requirements. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. referred to the course as "woke sociology." It was replaced with American History. In 2023, New College of Florida shuttered its gender studies program. 

But we know that the left is, if nothing else, persistent, and DEI is not going away without a fight. Recently, my colleague Alex Parker reported on UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, and its participation in something called ART, the AntiRacist Transformation in Medical Education program. DEI in medical school, what could go wrong there? 

At Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism, students are now being taught that asking the simple questions of "Where are you from" and "Where were you born" are "racial microaggressions." How can you be a journalist if you don't ask basic questions? Walter Cronkite is no doubt spinning in his grave.

What better way to make sure that the young skulls full of mush that you are indoctrinating pay close attention and go on to become the next generation of Marxists than ensuring their diploma depends on it? 

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