Old Dominion University faculty and students are speaking out against the implications recent executive orders referencing DEI and education could have on current and future generations of K-12 and higher education students and institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since his Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2024, President Trump signed a new executive order, \u201cEnding Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,\u201d<\/em><\/a> aiming to eradicate DEI efforts, set in place by former administrations, in the Federal Government completely. In addition, six other executive orders regarding DEI and three regarding education have been signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Education has begun taking actions to remove DEI programs, policies and resources within the Department, per a recent press release<\/a>, including the removal of webpages from the Department of Education\u2019s website that, \u201cencouraged schools and institutions of higher education to promote or endorse harmful ideological programs,\u201d and removal of the Department of Education\u2019s Equity Action Plan,<\/a> most recently updated in 2023, that outlines the strategies in place to ensure the advancement of equity in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Steffon Campbell, a lecturer at ODU who describes himself as \u201can educator who advocates for people to have access to what they need to be educated,\u201d shares his thoughts on the recent executive orders. \u201cJust the notion that DEI lowers standards is not just a myth but is also racist because built into it is the assumption that someone who is not a white male is not as good as them,\u201d says Campbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf it is that someone exists in society, but they are not represented in any space, what can we do to ensure that they are represented in those spaces?\u201d says Campbell when asked about how DEI plays a role in higher education. \u201cIt [DEI] is as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Campbell recently started a TikTok account to spread his educational messages further than the typical classroom setting. In a recent video, he debunks the myths surrounding DEI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n