Aaron Sibarium Profile picture
Sep 5, 2024 30 tweets 7 min read Read on X
NEW: The University of South Carolina required all students to affirm the value of "diversity and inclusion" as part of a mandatory training this summer.

Then, when I reached out for comment, USC claimed the training was "optional" despite telling students it was "required."🧵 Image
In a module on "Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging," which included 10 multiple choice questions, the training asked students how "diversity and inclusion help create a healthy, positive campus environment." Image
Students who said these values do not create such an environment—or that they give "unfair advantages" to "people from marginalized identity groups"—were told that their answers were "incorrect." Image
The right answer was that "diversity and inclusion exposes students to people from different backgrounds, thus enriching the overall campus experience."
Though students could complete the module without answering every question correctly, they needed at least an 80 percent—on a quiz with just 10 questions—to pass the training and register for classes, according to the screenshots from the training. Image
When I asked USC about this, a university spokesman, Jeffrey Stensland, claimed the diversity module was "optional, not mandatory," and that students only needed to complete units on alcohol and sexual assault.
But an online portal for USC’s 35,000 students says otherwise, indicating the diversity unit is "required" for all undergraduates. Image
USC also warned students in emails that "registration holds will take effect if you do not complete" the module, which was offered through an outside vendor, Vector Solutions, and includes lessons on "allyship," "privilege," and "cultural appropriation." Image
"You are receiving this email because you have not yet completed all of the Required Community Education modules," the emails read. "Completion of your courses is required for all students at the University of South Carolina."

Sure doesn't sound optional to me!
The requirements could set back a yearlong campaign by USC to preempt the sort of controversies that have embroiled higher education amid a wave of anti-Israel protests, which amplified critiques of campus DEI programs and sparked heated debate about free speech.
Under pressure from state lawmakers, USC last year renamed its top diversity office to avoid the terms "diversity," "equity," and "inclusion."
With tensions rising over the Oct. 7 attacks, it also promised in a press release to "strengthen its free speech expression policies" and promote "a variety of opinions and ideas"—commitments that earned the university a top rating for free speech from FIRE this year.
"USC went above and beyond to make its campus friendly to free expression," FIRE’s Mary Griffin said in a statement.
"Not only did the institution seek to ensure its written policies aligned with the First Amendment, but it also prioritized communicating the importance of free expression as a valued principle to students, faculty, and staff."
The training, which also included a module on mental health, suggests some leaders at USC didn’t get the memo.
The training forced students to affirm a range of propositions aimed at policing speech and micromanaging relationships, docking points for answers deemed insensitive or prejudiced.
One true/false question, for example, indicates that students should not support a "friend in need" by suggesting that exercise will help them feel better. Image
"While you may want to offer positivity or ideas on how they can move forward, now might not be the best time or place," the correct answer reads. "Rather than offering advice, try simply validating their feelings." Image
Another question asks what students should do if they "have a great idea for a costume" but are "concerned about cultural appropriation." Image
Dismissing the concerns as "not that serious"—even if nobody from the relevant culture will be at the party—is "incorrect," according to the training. Instead, students should "educate" themselves through online research to determine whether the costume is acceptable. Image
Still another question asks why students might not learn about the "experience of the LGBTQIA+ community" before arriving at college. Image
Incorrect answers include "there wasn’t enough time in high school to cover LGBTQIA+ perspectives" and "this probably wasn’t an intentional or deliberate decision to exclude." Image
To get the question right, students must affirm that "history is frequently told through the lens of those in charge rather than those from marginalized identity groups." Image
Schools across the country have required similar trainings. A Title IX training at BU forced faculty to affirm that people "rarely" make false accusations of sexual assault, while a Harvard Title IX training told students that "using the wrong pronouns" can constitute "abuse."
At USC, the multiple-choice quiz penalized students who said that refusing to use a roommate’s preferred pronouns did not constitute bigotry. Image
Students were also dinged for saying that it would be best to let a Jewish roommate stand up for himself if a "mutual friend" were "making fun" of his "religious headwear." Image
"Pull them aside later to educate them on why their comments may have been offensive," the training enjoins. Image
Stensland, the university spokesman, said the quiz was "not intended to reflect university policy" but rather "encourage student reflection."
Pressed on why the "optional" module had been listed as a requirement, he promised in an email to "follow-up with our team to ensure the information sent to incoming [students] is accurate."

"I appreciate you bringing this to our attention," he wrote.
Read the full piece—complete with quotes from Speech First's @cherisetrump—here: freebeacon.com/campus/univers…

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More from @aaronsibarium

Jul 1
EXCLUSIVE: Before she became the acting president of Columbia University, Claire Shipman argued that the school needed to get an "Arab on our board"—and suggested that a Jewish trustee should be removed over her pro-Israel advocacy.🧵 Image
"We need to get somebody from the middle east [sic] or who is Arab on our board," Shipman, then the co-chair of Columbia’s board of trustees, wrote in a message on January 17, 2024. "Quickly I think. Somehow." Image
A week later, Shipman told a colleague that Shoshana Shendelman, one of the board’s most outspoken critics of campus anti-Semitism, had been "extraordinarily unhelpful," adding, "I just don’t think she should be on the board." Image
Read 11 tweets
Jun 30
SCOOP: The Duke Law Journal sent a secret memo to minority applicants with tips on how to ace the journal's personal statement.

The memo told students they'd get up to 15 extra points for indicating their "membership in an "underrepresented group."🧵 Image
Image
The packet also included four examples of successful personal statements. Three of those essays referenced race in the first sentence. For example: "as an Asian-American woman and a daughter of immigrants, I am afforded with different perspectives, experiences, and privileges." Image
A fourth student waited until the last paragraph to disclose that she was "a Middle Eastern Jewish woman," an "intersectional identity" she said would "prove useful" in a "collaborative environment." Image
Read 18 tweets
Jun 19
NEW: The Harvard Law Review axes 85% of pieces using a rubric that asks about "author diversity." It even axed a piece by an Asian scholar after editors complained that there were "not enough Black" authors.

We analyzed 500 new documents from HLR. What we found was shocking.🧵 Image
The law review has insisted that it "does not consider race, ethnicity, gender, or any other protected characteristic as a basis for recommending or selecting a piece for publication."

But it screens out the vast majority of submissions using the following rubric: Image
40% of editors since 2024 have cited protected characteristics when lobbying for or against articles—at one point killing a piece by an Asian-American scholar, Alex Zhang, after an editor complained that "we have too many Yale JDs and not enough Black and Latino/Latina authors."
Read 49 tweets
Jun 6
NEW: The Harvard Law Review retaliated against a student for allegedly leaking documents to yours truly—and demanded he request their destruction in the midst of three federal probes.

Now the journal is being accused of illegally interfering with a government investigation.🧵 Image
The Justice Department told Harvard on May 13 it was investigating reports of race discrimination at the journal. A week later, the law review instructed a student who was cooperating with the DOJ investigation, Daniel Wasserman, to round up the documents he’d allegedly shared.
The journal told Wasserman to "[r]equest that any parties with whom you have shared Confidential Materials … delete or return them to The Review."
Read 22 tweets
Jun 2
NEW: The Harvard Law Review put out a "factsheet" last week claiming the journal complies with Supreme Court precedent and does not select editors based on race.

We've obtained a trove of new evidence that casts doubt on both claims.🧵 Image
The factsheet quotes from what it claims is the current policy for editor selection, which cites "Supreme Court guidance" and bars the consideration of race.

But when we showed this policy to three current and former editors at the journal, none of them were familiar with it. Image
The journal claimed the new policy had been adopted "this year." But as recently as May 4, HLR's online application packet said that the journal considers "all available information," including "racial or ethnic identity," to select editors from "a diverse set of backgrounds." Image
Read 22 tweets
May 13
NEW: 44 of the nation’s largest law firms were hit with a discrimination complaint on Monday alleging that they use an outside staffing agency to hire interns based on race.

These are some of the same firms that pledged to end DEI hiring as part of their deals with Trump.🧵 Image
The complaint, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, targets Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), a nonprofit that places minority students at elite firms the summer before their first year of law school.
The paid internship often leads to a return offer the following summers, giving recipients an extraordinary leg up on their white peers.
Read 19 tweets

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