{"id":2244,"date":"2023-12-21T01:30:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T02:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shinsori.me\/?p=2244"},"modified":"2023-12-21T09:00:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T09:00:24","slug":"gov-cox-forcing-new-hires-to-sign-diversity-statements-bordering-on-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/shinsori.me\/index.php\/2023\/12\/21\/gov-cox-forcing-new-hires-to-sign-diversity-statements-bordering-on-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Cox: Forcing new hires to sign diversity statements \u2018bordering on evil\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Gov.<\/p>\n

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Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to media during a monthly news conference at PBS Utah at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n

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Rick Egan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Gov. Spencer Cox said he expects the Utah Legislature to ban state colleges and universities from requiring new hires to sign \u201cdiversity statements,\u201d and said he plans to sign the bill if it comes to his desk. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s bordering on evil that we\u2019re forcing people into a political framework before they can even apply for a job in the state,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Cox called the diversity, equity and inclusion statements \u201cvery political,\u201d during his monthly televised PBS press conference<\/a> on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought for sure that\u2019s not happening here in the state of Utah \u2014 it is happening here in the state of Utah. But I can assure you after this legislative session, it will not be happening here,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Cox said discussions with members of the state Legislature are already underway about how to address DEI issues on college campuses, and the conversation includes college presidents and members of the state Board of Higher Education. <\/p>\n

The focus of the conversations, he said, is on how to help students who are struggling.<\/p>\n

Cox said he thinks the number of people working in DEI positions on public campuses is \u201castounding,\u201d and said they haven\u2019t shown they can help improve student outcomes. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a zero sum game, and I\u2019m so tired of the false choices.\u201d he said, pointing to rural students and young men as populations who are also attending college at lower rates. He said it wasn\u2019t true that if \u201cyou\u2019re opposed to the identitarianism of DEI then you\u2019re racist.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI care deeply about our brown kids and our Black kids. I care deeply about all of our children, and we should be trying to help them.\u201d <\/p>\n

The racial makeup of Utah and the state\u2019s public universities is changing, Cox said. There are now 17 states less diverse than Utah, including Ohio, and the students who attend Utah\u2019s public colleges and universities generally reflect that diversity, he added. <\/p>\n

Cox was quick to say Utahns should understand that while he might not like some of what\u2019s been done in the name of DEI, it doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t value diversity. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that diversity is very important, and I think it is a worthy goal. I think that inclusion is absolutely critical. We value and we pride ourselves on being a state that is incredibly welcoming with refugees and immigrants and others,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should celebrate our different cultures, different backgrounds, different experiences, different languages \u2014 all of those things make us richer and make us better,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why diversity is so good. All of the studies show that if you get people who are different working together to solve a problem, they can actually solve that problem better than people who are the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

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