In higher education, is there any greater sin than a lack of diversity?
The College Fix reports:
Entire American U. College Democrats exec board resigns after complaints it’s not ‘diverse’The entire executive board of the American University College Democrats resigned after complaints were lodged about its lack of diversity.According to The Eagle, the board is comprised of the group president, vice president, chief of staff, treasurer, communications director, director of activism, social chair … and director of diversity, equity and inclusion(!).All offered statements regarding why they stepped down.Now-former president Rhett Martino wrote that “BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] voices must be amplified in leadership, and that must start from the top.”In a Facebook post, group interim executive director Jeremy T.C. Ward said the CD seeks to not only be one that “talks about diversity, equity, and inclusion,” but that “fosters an environment where these words are present in every capacity of the organization.”In a separate FB statement, now-former VP Christopher Bastida said the organization has “flounder[ed] in its responsibility to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive.” Given the “overtly racist climate that is our campus” and “lackluster response” from some of the exec board, Bastida added he had “no hope for the future” as the CD was constituted.Zuby Chowdhury, who lost the club’s presidential election to Martino, complained that when she became a College Democrats campaign fellow, she was “exposed to the toxicity” of the group by having to do “demeaning” fundraising research.Interestingly, of the eight now-former exec board members, three are students of color. This percentage mirrors AU’s racial demographics.
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