Justice Department investigates Arizona State University over DEI programs
ASU under investigation over DEI allegations
Justice Department officials say they are launching an investigation into Arizona State University, and said recent viral videos prompted the agency to launch the probe.
PHOENIX - Officials with the U.S. Justice Department announced on June 3 that they are launching an investigation into what they describe as "diversity, equity, and inclusion practices" at Arizona State University.
What we know:
According to a statement, the investigation was launched following "recent viral videos indicating ASU denied equal treatment to students based on race, color, or national origin — while attempting to hide its discriminatory practices from federal scrutiny."
Dig deeper:
While the Justice Department's statement did not contain descriptions of the "viral videos" that officials say prompted the investigation, the probe comes in the wake of undercover videos posted by a group named "Accuracy In Media."
"I know we have still committees – I’m going to say committees that are DEI," said one ASu faculty member in one of AIM's videos. "We also have a program called ‘Psych For All’ that works on that. I know it’s part of our department. Our department very much values it."
"One of the things that I’m concerned about with considering education here is the lack of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in their curriculum, and it doesn’t really say that it is," said one of the undercover in the video,.
"It’s definitely included," the faculty member replied.
Justice officials said their investigation "will examine whether ASU subjects its students to illegal discrimination through its DEI policies in admissions, recruitment, scholarships, tutoring, and the provision of educational support."
What they're saying:
We spoke with the President of Accuracy in Media, Adan Guillette, after the DOJ announced the probe.
"At Arizona State, like any university, first we go the departments that were previously called DEI, into the staffers who previously had DEI positions. What we found at Arizona State is they just got new business cards and changed their job title, and they laughingly told us about how they’re continuing to do the same work. Then we went to the colleges of education, sociology, criminology, because we often find bad actors there as well, and once again, consistently, we found people devoted to pushing the divisive radical ideas associated with diversity, equity, inclusion into every facet of education. Arizona, like every state, needs a Florida-style DEI ban which prohibits educators from promoting identity politics," Guillette said.
The other side:
We have reached out to officials with Arizona State University for comment on the investigation.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a statement released by the United States Department of Justice.