In a video recently shared by Accuracy in Media, several officials at the University of Utah and Utah Tech University are shown telling undercover reporters that their institutions simply changed how they present their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) instruction instead of getting rid of it entirely, as both state and federal law now require.
"This is one of many states that banned DEI initiatives from higher education," notes Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette. "What we found, just as in many other states, is that the law means nothing to the radicals who run higher education."
He says the staff members at the two Utah universities were quick to brag about how they ignore, circumvent, and break the law.
"They changed their job titles, and they changed the descriptions of what they're doing, but they're continuing to do the exact same work that's prohibited by law," he relays. "These people think they're entirely unaccountable."
When Accuracy in Media goes undercover, Guillette says investigators are not earning the subjects' trust over many months; they meet them for just a few minutes.
"If they think you're like-minded, they will immediately brag to you about how they break the law," he tells AFN. "That shows you how out of touch, how unaccountable these folks are."
He finds it astonishing that those on the far Left think they have a God-given right to take American tax money and use it for anti-American activism.
"They've transformed higher education into an activist organization," he summarizes.
Using the Accuracy in Media action alert, activists have sent emails directly to trustees whose job is to oversee the universities and ensure this sort of thing is not happening. Many of the trustees in red states are appointed by the governor, and Guillette thinks they have abdicated their responsibilities.
He says it is on their shoulders to reform higher education, and it is incumbent upon citizens, especially in red states, to demand that.
For one thing, it could lower tuition costs.
Over the past decade, Guillette says higher education has hired 20 administrators for every one faculty member, creating an environment where activist administrative staff in LGBTQ+ and equity departments "run the show." He believes the solution to high tuition prices is dramatic reform where such administrative departments are eliminated.
Meanwhile, he says the people featured in his organization's videos often get fired but are replaced with people who are "just as bad" but "smart enough to keep their mouth shut."
In this case, the Daily Caller reports nonpartisan government watchdog organization Protect the Public's Trust has asked the Department of Education, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to "promptly investigate the … potential violations."
Guillette is not sure if these federal complaints will result in ramifications for these Utah universities.
