Editor's note: This article was updated at 2:53 p.m. to clarify that the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center is not impacted by the executive order.
Members of the Black Emergency Response Team and African Student Association hosted a discussion Tuesday evening concerning Gov. Kevin Stitt's recent executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Oklahoma.
Approximately a dozen students attended the hour-and-a-half-long conversation, which ranged in topic from how to support students of marginalized communities, to empowering student organizations as well as holding OU accountable in continuing to promote diversity in the absence of designated DEI programs.
"Unifying is the strongest thing we can do right now, because (Stitt's executive order) affects everybody. This is an everybody thing," said Amari Williams, a political science and African American studies junior and director of BERT.
"Once everybody starts standing up for it, there's so much that we can do to change what's going on," Williams said.
'It's a little depressing'
Stitt's executive order, which was signed on Dec. 13, calls for a formal review of DEI in Oklahoma higher education. Among other stipulations, the order prohibits state agencies and institutions for higher education from using state funds, property or resources to "grant or support diversity, equity and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures or programs to the extent that they grant preferential treatment based on one person's race, color, sex, ethnicity or national origin over another's."
The order requires universities and state agencies to be in compliance with the executive order by May 31.
Following the order's announcement, OU released a statement reaffirming its commitment to "ensuring an education from the University of Oklahoma remains accessible and available to all students." OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. has since told a group of student leaders that no staff will be terminated as a result of Stitt's executive order but that the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, as well as other DEI offices and roles, will change their names.
Still, the scope and specifics of how DEI will change at OU remain largely unclear.
"Targeting these programs, which help out literally everybody, … it's a little depressing, actually," Javeon Yarbrough, a computer engineering junior, said.
DEI programs, Yarbrough added, are a support system for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, allowing them to pursue and succeed in higher education.
Some of the DEI programs at OU include the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center and the TRIO Center, which are designed to advance the academic success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including low income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities. Three diversity scholarship and guidance programs are part of the TRIO Center: Upward Bound, Project Threshold and the McNair Scholars.
According to Stitt's executive order, the order will not apply to academic support, tutoring and career services and student success centers so long as the programming is designed and implemented without regard to race, sex, color, national origin or ethnicity. The order will also not apply to access programs for military, veterans, Pell Grant recipients, first-generation college students, students from low-income families, student with unique abilities, or underserved student populations. The ADRC falls under this exemption.
For Brinly Jaja, an international student from Nigeria majoring in computer engineering, the DEI programs at OU have been a critical support system as she navigates college in a different country. Without them, she said she fears for the future generations of international students.
"I was talking to my dad, and he's like, 'I don't think your sister could come over to this place,' because he knows how crucial (DEI) is," Jaja said. "I kind of get scared, because they're … the future generation. What's going to happen? Like, how are they going to be able to adapt in an environment that actually doesn't want them there?"
"It's just another form of oppression," added Shiloh Sells, a computer science and pre-med sophomore, referencing Stitt's executive order.
'It's very unpredictable'
During the discourse, Williams and Sells, who moderated the event, presented quotes from OU explaining the meaning of DEI.
Equity, according to OU, means “all have access and opportunity to succeed through identified and provided resources."
However, some of the students raised concerns about the sustainability of these resources amid Stitt's crackdown on DEI programs and departments.
"It's very unpredictable at this point because it's unprecedented. So we don't really know how the funding (for these programs) is going to change," Williams said.
According to a recent 10-year review conducted by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, which looked at spending materials used for DEI in state higher education, about $10.2 million was budgeted for DEI activities for the current fiscal year — just 0.29% of all higher education spending.
"Now you want to cut it, and keep cutting away and keep cutting and keep cutting," Sells said. "There's going to be zero. There is nothing, it's already pennies, basically."
'It's going to be a nightmare'
Without DEI resources, some of the students said they also worry it will be harder to prevent and address discrimination on campus.
"It's going to be a nightmare" said Shrey Kathuria, a community health and pre-med junior.
Kathuria, who ran for Student Government Association president in October, is working with members of SGA to draft a bill, called the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matters Act, to state their opposition to Oklahoma Legislature's attempts to defund DEI and to call for support from OU officials.
"We're basically going to stand strong by our values that DEI is a core component of who we are," Kathuria said.
According to OU's 2023-24 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, one hate crime was reported in 2022. According to the report, a hate crime is defined as a criminal offense with evidence that the victim was intentionally targeted because of the perpetrator's bias against the victim due to race, religion, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin or disability. However, because incidents may have gone unreported, this report may not accurately represent the total number of hate crimes that occurred.
Those in attendance said in order to enact change and hold OU accountable for its commitment to promoting and supporting diversity on campus, students and student organizations need to share their stories and voice their concerns. Registered student organizations are protected under the executive order.
BERT is a student-led organization founded in 2019 in response to racist incidents on campus. BERT is not a registered student organization and is therefore not protected by the university.
"I know it can be a little intimidating, just because pushing for change and being in the forefront of activist work, … it comes with a lot," Sells said. "And so at the end of the day, at least my driving force is: I have to make it better for future generations.
“If not me, then who's going to do it?"
This story was edited by Peggy Dodd, Anusha Fathepure and Ismael Lele. Natalie Armour, Avery Avery and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
