DEI at UVA: the Backlash Begins
At the direction of Board of Visitors Secretary Susan Harris, a compilation of nearly 50 letters and email messages to the Board and President Jim Ryan was distributed to Board members Tuesday. The letters were almost uniformly critical of the Board’s decision earlier this month to abolish the office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement.
Many authors declared themselves to be “ashamed” by the action, and several vowed to cease donating to the University. Many described the vote as racist, sexist, and homophobic; several decried it as “fascist.” Some letters criticized Ryan for failing to stand up to the Board, while a few urged him to be true to his values and fight back.
The purpose of distributing the emails was not clear. The cover letter from the clerk of the Board said only this: “Susan Harris tried to send you an email over the weekend that contained the emails that had been received in regards to the DEI decision that was made. The file was very large and many of you most likely did not receive it. The attached file contains all of the messages to both the President’s Office and the BOV Office on the DEI decision.”
Several days ago, Governor Glenn Youngkin, who supported the Board’s decision, declared on national TV that “DEI is done” at UVA. He might want to read the letters and re-evaluate his appraisal of the political dynamics at play.
Some generalizations about the letters
The level of anger is intense against the Board and the Trump administration, whose executive order the Board was following under the threat of losing federal funding. But the outrage is most pronounced among UVA alumni who, judging by their rhetoric, reside on the far left of the political spectrum. Most letter writers regarded the unanimous vote as an effort to drag UVA back to its past as in institution that excluded Blacks, women and other minorities. Very few showed an appreciation for the details of the resolution. Authors rarely referenced the Board’s actual resolution. Most inveighed against what they thought — often inaccurately — the Board’s resolution seeks to accomplish.
Some of the responsibility for the backlash arguably rests with Ryan, who had written on March 11 to the UVA Community with news of the Board’s vote. He provided an anodyne account of what the vote meant and how the University would seek to comply with the law, and then implied vaguely that someone somewhere believed that some students didn’t “deserve” to be at UVA. Some of the emails expressing outrage were direct replies to Ryan’s email.
“Last, and especially to our students,” Ryan wrote, “I hope this goes without saying, but I will say it anyway: all of you deserve to be here and belong here. It does not matter where you are from or what you believe, your background, identity, or political orientation…. My colleagues and I will continue to work as hard as we can to make sure you have every chance to succeed and give back to the community, and for this University to continue to feel like home, for everyone.”
No one on the Board has ever suggested otherwise. The Board resolution explicitly forbids the use of racial preferences in admissions, hiring, promotions, discipline, scholarships and other aspects of University life. But DEI’s critics have never questioned the value of diversity, nor have they denied the importance of ensuring that everyone who comes to UVA feels like they belong. What critics have called into question is “equity,” which as applied in practice — as opposed to the gauzy meaning that some letter writers applied to it — is inextricable from the dualistic oppressor-oppressed paradigm of critical theory, the indoctrination of students with that paradigm, and the suppression of views that transgress its ideology.
Whether intentional or not, Ryan’s letter subtly played to the preconceptions of left-of-center alumni that the Board resolution might have been motivated by the sentiment that some students did not belong.
Here follow excerpts from the letters. Some were addressed to Ryan, some to the Board of Visitors, and some to whomever. You can read the compilation here and decide for yourself if the quotations below provide a representative sample of the sentiments expressed.
Rich white racists
“People who want to ‘end DEI’ are actually working to return the University to a predominantly White, Christian, male-controlled space in which all others experience exclusion, hostility, discrimination, and even violence. They want what the neo-Nazis who carried torches on Grounds wanted.”
“I am so disappointed that the Board has voted to end DEI. I thought we were past the good ‘ol boy days of rich white men declaring who had value, who was worthy of a good education, who could be admitted to the club. If Jefferson believed that all men are created equal, then act like it! … Don’t make it easier to discriminate.”
“UVA does not align with my [value system]. To roll back the DEI programs is to show the true color of the leadership, and frighteningly, that color is white supremacy.”
“The entire purpose of the recent attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion has been to wash wealthy, white America clean of any responsibility for the past, and to preserve the privileges and advantages that the majority culture has so long enjoyed and exploited.”
“In 2017 young men in the uniform of fraternity brothers marched down the hallowed Lawn with tiki torches chanting Nazi slogans and no one stopped them. The ease with which they were able to do this unleashed a flood of white supremacy throughout the country. UVA must position itself in opposition to such actions, not in mild acquiescence to a regime that centers them.”
“I’m ashamed to see UVA roll over for the racist, homophobic, misogynistic governmental directives the US and the Old Dominion are receiving these days. Which is it you oppose? Diversity, equity, or inclusion? How about justice?”
DEI needed because of past sins
“It was only 206 years ago that slaves and servants that looked like me poured their blood, sweat, and tears into building the University of Virginia. It would be out of touch to suggest that the inequities caused by a university that is inextricably tied to its racial history is still without impacts in the broader community even today.”
“This campus was literally built by slave labor but you no longer feel there’s a place for an institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“As a Black woman, I have always been proud of my UVA experience and degree, sure there is some historical context needed around the University’s founder and enslaved people at UVA, but I thought in recent years UVA did an admirable job of acknowledging the history. The BOV’s decision is extremely disheartening.”
“As many of us know, the reason most DEI offices came into being was to correct decades of exclusion and unfairness. I pray that we don’t regress to those inequitable realities again.”
“UVA has a long history of ignoring female and racial minorities in the Commonwealth, and this decision set us back to those times.”
“What a disgusting, disgraceful group of bigots you all are…. I’m sure the KKK, as well as all the other groups of hateful racists, who marched in Charlottesville years ago are so very pleased with your decision.”
“The University is so much stronger today as it actually reflects the world we live in. To go back to the 1960s is a huge mistake.”
A reactionary measure
“The dissolution of this office appears to be a reactionary measure that disregards the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in enriching the educational experience and preparing students for a diverse world.”
“The removal of DEI initiatives signals a retreat from the values of openness and inclusion that UVA should champion. Eliminating this office sends a chilling message: that the university is willing to deprioritize the very students it once claimed to uplift.”
“Is the flagship state university so sadly backward that they would prefer a mono-cultural grounds? Shame on you.”
Fascists
“I am ashamed of UVA…. You’ve decided that instead of taking a stand against our fascist president, you’ll give in and show him that you are a loyal follower of his racism, intolerance, and incompetence. I am deeply ashamed of my alma mater. You won’t be receiving any money from me until you reverse this decision.”
“This is capitulation to fascism and a middle finger to Black students, women, queer people, and everybody who’s not quite as cis, quite as straight, quite as male, quite as privileged as you and me.”
“UVA would be nothing more than a pawn in the fascist movement to silence free speech and freedom of assembly guaranteed by our Constitution.”
No more money from me
“For the first time since I graduated in 1975, I am ashamed to call the University of Virginia my alma mater…. That’s the last dime you’ll see from me.”
“I regretfully withdraw my support for the University, both in terms of financial contributions and advocacy.”
“Not one dollar, not one UVA associated purchase, and no pride in my alma mater until this is revoked.”
“I recently made a gift to the University that I specifically designated to the DEI initiative…. Now that you have made the unfortunate and politically extreme decision to eliminate this initiative, what are you going to do with my donation?”
“Today, I am ashamed to call myself a Cavalier. Until the Board of Visitors recommits to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, I will be directing my financial contributions to organizations that advance equity, such as the NAACP.”
“I’m not a minority alumnus but very disappointed in UVA’s decision to end its DEI office or programs. Therefore, I will cease all donations to UVA programs going forward.”
“I will be ceasing all financial contributions to the University of Virginia, effective immediately.”
Stand up and fight
“UVA remains a school in which nonwhite students are underrepresented. It remains a school where some fraternities block entry to parties of people of color. … I call on you to reverse the decision and stand up for academic excellence, the Constitution, free speech. A great University does not kowtow.”
“Appeasement has never worked and to surrender our values to avoid being punished by this administration is shameful.”
“I can’t wait to see my fellow alumni Abigail Spanberger replace every one of you who voted for this.”
“Please stand up to the current right-wing backlash.”
“You have the power to push back. You have the leverage, the legal resources, and the brilliant minds to challenge this injustice.”
“All decent alumni, faculty, and students are counting on you to stand up for what is right. If you do not, these may well be the final days of Mr. Jefferson’s University — if it is not already Mr. Youngkin’s and Mr. Trump’s.”
“I urge you to summon the community-oriented facet of your leadership and build a collective and creative resistance to mitigate the federal government’s bias overreach.”
“I understand you are planning to reassign people in [the DEI] office to other positions in the University. Wouldn’t it be better to stand up for our University and to the ideologues who are working to destroy what our University stands for? Rally the students, faculty, alums, and community….”
Wait, what? Someone willing to engage in dialogue?
Only one letter indicated that the writers had actually read the Board of Visitors resolution. That came from Black alumni of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity chapter at UVA. While taking exception to the Board’s legal reasoning in complying with the Trump administration executive order on DEI, the authors declared themselves willing to “discuss our concerns with anyone at the University willing to listen.”
Stated the letter: “We are particularly interested in understanding how this action will improve the experience for historically underrepresented students at the University (Black students in particular), and how it will result in greater matriculation of such students, though we remain highly skeptical that it will do either. “
Battle far from over
Similar sentiments have been voiced by members of the UVA faculty, at least one of whom has publicly described efforts to develop workarounds to the prohibition on racial preferences. What cannot be known is the degree to which Ryan and other senior administrators share these views and whether they will heed the admonishments to resist the Board resolution. We’ll get a clearer idea of his intentions when Ryan reports back to the Board in a couple of weeks.
Some may remember when Teresa Sullivan was made to resign as President in 2012. The sacking seemed irrevocable at first, but she managed to mobilize students, faculty and the community on her behalf. Under pressure from Governor Bob McDonnell to settle the impasse, the Board of Visitors backed down and reinstalled her. If Governor Youngkin wants to see UVA transformed into a university of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion, he will need Board members willing to carry on the fight in what is shaping up to be a long and bitter battle.
James A. Bacon is the founder of Bacon’s Rebellion and a contributing editor with The Jefferson Council.
