By Patrick Rupinen, Staff Writer

Last week, students and faculty gathered in Kennedy Auditorium to confront the current uncertainties of higher education in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies with a panel discussion titled “The Demonization of DEI: Past and Present.” 

Philosophy professor Dr. Gabriel Gottlieb organized the event on behalf of the Philosophy Department. Gottlieb invited Xavier communications professor Dr. Leslie Rasmussen and University of Cincinnati assistant professor of history Dr. Holly McGee to speak at the event, along with Xavier gender and diversity studies and theology professor Dr. Kayla Wheeler to moderate.

“I loved the panel discussion. They got their information across in very different ways, but still very well. Dr. Rasmussen was more informative and she gave a lot more personal stories,” sophomore gender and diversity studies and theology double major and Vice President of Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) Hannah Lesniewski said.

Rasmussen kicked off the event with a personal testimony about astroturfing. Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of presenting an orchestrated campaign that appears to be unsolicited comments from members of the public. Astroturfing is currently affecting our public sphere, according to Rasmussen. 

Sharing her personal experience as a member of the school board in Anderson Township, Rasmussen talked about how conservative activists have been using astroturfing to attack DEI programs at schools. They rile up local citizens to go complain to their school boards about Critical Race Theory, something that Rasmussen argued is currently not even being taught in schools. 

“I learned a lot from Leslie Rasmussen. I am not particularly media savvy, so I found it very helpful to see the toolkits that are being used to speak to people. They are able to spread disinformation and sort of whip up hysteria about particular issues. I thought that was very helpful to be aware that this is happening,” philosophy professor Dr. Alexis Dianda said. 

In the latter half of the discussion, McGee talked about the recent passing of Senate Bill One (SB1) in Ohio and the direct implications the bill is having on public universities in Ohio. 

“Senate Bill One works to reform higher education by aligning with Ohio’s workforce needs, eliminating DEI programs, trainings, orientations and promoting institutional stability, accountability and transparency,” the website of The Ohio House of Representatives states.

McGee shared that this new bill will require the teaching of American civics courses, Adam Smith’s book “The Wealth of Nations” and the Constitution. The bill also ends degrees that do not retain a certain number of graduates, eliminates DEI staff and programs at public universities, as well as prohibits the rights of professors to strike and essentially gets rid of tenure for professors, according to McGee. 

“Holly McGee did a fantastic job. She did a very thoughtful presentation around the effects of something like SB1. And I think having the perspective from the University of Cincinnati – our neighbors and friends who are being affected by this more than we are right now – I thought that was really helpful,” Dianda said. 

Throughout the event, the discussion mentioned how these unprecedented times will impact Xavier. 

“I hope students can learn more about what’s happening in the world around them outside of their classes and discussions. If SB1 remains the law of Ohio, then that’s going to impact future education,” Gottlieb said. “It is also my understanding that there’s some expectation that the state will pass some kind of law that will affect private schools, how deep that law runs, how much it will affect private schools and the exact ways is unclear.”