Texas’ diversity ban ended scholarships, weakened Black History Month events and LGBTQ support at universities

Texas law eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher education has widespread impacts on student life and cultural and identity-affirming events.

The University of Texas at Austin, where black students make up just 4.5% of scholars and 5.3% of school, has stopped offering diversity-focused scholarships since Senate Bill 17 went into effect on Jan. 1, based on Senate Bill 17. Houston Chronicle. The University of Houston disbanded its LGBTQ offices in September, and Texas A&M in January. UT San Antonio closed its Inclusive Excellence office earlier this 12 months, with no intention of repurposing the middle.

While the law still allows for Black History Month events, some UT Austin students consider the university has relaxed them. The institution promotes the twice-yearly conference “Afrofuturism and the Law” and organizes a barbecue at the top of the month.

As The Chronicle reported, a web-based post in regards to the events barely mentioned a project announced last 12 months honoring the varsity’s first recognized group of black students in 1956.

“The state of Texas and our lawmakers as a whole are trying to diminish the Black experience,” said Bryn Palmer, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, based on the Chronicle. “It’s really just black history and it’s been renamed to make it seem like we’re attacking white people for things that happened in the past.”

The Center for Multicultural Engagement, which served as a gathering place for university-sponsored Black, Asian, Latino, Native American and LGBTQ student organizations, has been closed. UT Austin also discontinued long-standing cultural convocation celebrations corresponding to Black Graduation.

While the law doesn’t apply to student groups, which can proceed to receive funding, some leaders note that having the support of school and administration and using campus centers as community-building spaces have contributed to the success of many diversity groups and initiatives.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s former senior adviser Sherry Sylvester, a senior fellow at the right-leaning Texas Public Policy Foundation and supporter of SB 17, said having DEI offices and programs deepens divisions on campus.

“We want to restore universities to their mission, which is to be a place of free speech, of open inquiry, where everyone’s voice is heard,” Sylvester told the Chronicle. “No one is silenced. Merit matters. Hard work matters.”

Asar Alkebulan, senior academic advisor and previous co-president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association, stated that he believed no laws, statutes or policies would prevent him from expressing his identity.

Alkebulan expressed his disappointment with the university’s efforts to honor black culture this month. He tried to host a Kwanzaa party in December, but he says campus administrators shut him down, likely out of fear of SB 17.

“With SB 17, it’s almost like you just throw your hands up and say, ‘OK, yeah, I don’t have anything,’” Alkebulan said, based on The Chronicle. “It’s painful. It’s depressing.”