U. Oklahoma Refuses to End Compelled Speech in Mandatory Diversity Training for Staff
“required trainees to acknowledge their agreements with the university’s approved political viewpoints”
The left’s ideas are so popular that they have to be enforced as mandatory.
From the FIRE blog:
University of Oklahoma refuses to end compelled speech in diversity training program
Last fall, FIRE discovered that the University of Oklahoma was running an online mandatory diversity training program for faculty and staff members — including some graduate students — that required trainees to acknowledge their agreements with the university’s approved political viewpoints in order to complete the requirement. FIRE pointed out that this was compelled political speech and asked OU to change the training. In an email to FIRE last week, OU officially refused to do so.
FIRE first wrote to OU on Nov. 16, 2020, bringing the university’s attention to FIRE’s concerns about this violation of trainees’ rights of free speech and freedom of conscience. Our letter explained that the First Amendment protects the right to speak, but also the right not to speak. Accordingly, we called on the university to either make its diversity training optional or allow participants to still complete the training while selecting the answers that most closely reflect their beliefs, without punishment.
It is FIRE’s custom to reach out to universities privately at first to give them a chance to make changes without being subjected to public opprobrium. But after months went by with no response to our letter, FIRE publicly wrote about the situation to add further pressure on the university to comply with its obligation to respect student and faculty First Amendment rights. This time, OU responded quickly, claiming to have previously responded to us — though we had not received a response — stating that it would consult with its software vendor, EVERFI, to discuss FIRE’s objections.
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Comments
This is the text of the new OK state law so OU will have to back off or possibly lose money from the state.
http://oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB1775
A. 1. No enrolled student of an institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall be required to engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling; provided, voluntary counseling shall not be prohibited. Any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis of race or sex shall be prohibited.
2. Pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall promulgate rules, subject to approval by the Legislature, to implement the provisions of this subsection.
B. The provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit the teaching of concepts that align to the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
1. NO teacher, administrator or other employee of a school district, charter school or virtual charter school SHALL require or make part of a course the following concepts: (emphasis added)
a. one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,
b. an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,
c. an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex,
d. members of one race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex,
e. an individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex,
f. an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex,
g. any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex, or
h. meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race.
I do not see any protection for teachers, administration or staff of Universities, or schools of any type in Oklahoma from being compelled to take and avow agreement with the content of the course.
I of course could have missed something in the link you posted.
Professor? People of the Lawyerly profession?
This wouldn’t be a problem if red states put real conservatives in charge of the state universities. Firing the woke admins and eliminated the woke depts would be a good start in correcting the problems. Why allow cancer to metastasize?