As we all know, throwing money at a problem doesn’t always solve it.
Case in point: the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s work toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
According to The College Fix report, UW-Madison spent over $600 million on DEI programs and staff positions in the last six years.
The College Fix has filed a public records request to determine how much the state’s flagship university has spent toward diversity improvement since 2016, including faculty, scholarships and grants, speakers, events and recruitment. …
[A]These expenses have been estimated at many millions over the past half-dozen year as university workers worked hard to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion.
These are just a few of the known costs:
2022
- $510,000: In tribute to the black Greek lifestyle, for construction of Divine Nine Garden Plaza (partially financed by donations).
- $55,000: 1619 ProjectNikole Hannah Jones, creator of Martin Luther King Day speech
2021
2020
- $12,750 White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo, for one speech and a Q&A
- Undisclosed Amount: To change the “W” on athletic uniforms from white to black, in a show of “solidarity”
2017
- Undisclosed Amount: To provide menstrual products in women’s and men’s restrooms
- Undisclosed Amount: Various staff “diversity” and “antiracism” training
Every year
- $25,000: Black Student Union budget
Here’s the Fix with more:
UW-Madison…currently employs eight leaders in its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion division: a deputy vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion, senior operations officer, deputy Title IX coordinator, assistant vice provost for strategic diversity, equity and inclusion administration, financial administration director, senior director of external relations, director of development, and a director of strategic diversity planning and research.
The base salary of their employees is approximately three-quarters to a million dollars annually, according to public records. That does not account for fringe benefits like health insurance or other perks. Additionally, a keyword search in the UW-Madison public salary database for “diversity” and “equity” turned up dozens of results.
So how’s all that spending You have been wokenIt worked?
A recent Campus Climate Survey asked students whether they feel “welcome, respected, and safe.” Results reveal the following:
Student of color, students who are disabled, students from non-binary backgrounds, transgender and other LGBTQ+ students were less positive than their peers.
#Fail::
This gap in perceptions among these students was not reduced between 2016-2021.
According to Rebecca Blank, outgoing Chancellor of the University, this lack of improvement is a sign that whiteness runs devilishly deep.
“It’s clear that there do remain gaps between more marginalized groups and their degree of satisfaction and their sense of belonging and comfort on this campus.”
Even if it isn’t helping, don’t worry — it’s helping:
“I think we’ve done a number of things that have helped move the university forward, but as others have noted, we are a predominantly white institution in a predominantly white state, and this is work that is going to be ongoing for a long time.”
That’s certainly one interpretation. Another might be that DEI offers a message that’s anything but optimistic.
As far as I can tell, the ideas of this book are:
- Nonwhite people’s lives are awful, because white people hate them and have created a system that will not let nonwhites succeed.
- White people’s lives are awful, because they hate nonwhites and have created a system that will not let nonwhites succeed.
It may not be the fastest way to greater happiness. Misery will spread as the ideology grows.
Morgan Freeman famously said the best way to end racism is to “stop talking about it.” Since UW-Madison’s method has miscarried, might they try Morgan’s?
It’s unlikely, but it sure would be cheaper.
-ALEX
Get more information from me
Media Agency refuses to accredit university unless it teaches future journalists more about social justice
NPR Lays Down the Law to the Pleasure of Masked Snitches
The University Recommends that All Graduates Take a DEI Course. Students Are Forced to Attend
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