US Department Of Justice Investigating Arizona State University For Allegedly Upholding DEI Practices – AfroTech

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Arizona State University over its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

ABC15 Arizona reported that Rebecca Loftus, an associate teaching professor and director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, suggested that DEI practices were being upheld in the criminal justice program’s curriculum. She made the remarks in a video that was allegedly recorded without her knowledge.

“I think that there definitely is that within the curriculum, although you’re not going to see the reference as predominant as it was perhaps two years ago, but it’s still very much a part of the conversation,” the associate teaching professor said in the video.

“And we even have, it’s called the IDEA office, you know that designing our classes so that they are more accessible to everybody, that we are celebrating the diversity of our students and the populations that we serve … It’s still part of this college. It’s still part of the school, but you’re not going to see the DEI language,” Loftus said to the individual in conversation.

The video was reportedly from Accuracy in Media (AIM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit claiming to expose “government corruption, public policy failures, and radical activists” through investigative journalism and cultural activism, its website reads. Its president, Adam Guillette, told ABC15 Arizona that the group meets with paid administrators in the college’s social work, education, and criminology departments instead of professors.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a Title VI investigation into the school, as it believed it “denied equal treatment to students based on race, color, or national origin — while attempting to hide its discriminatory practices from federal scrutiny — prompted the investigation,” per ABC15 Arizona.

“No student should be denied access to opportunities or resources because of race, color, or national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, according to the outlet. “The United States is committed to keeping universities free of unlawful discrimination — especially when they try to hide illegal conduct to avoid oversight and compliance.”

Arizona State University responded to the investigation, stating that it “complies fully with federal law and does not discriminate in admissions.”

Its statement continued, “Not only would doing so violate Arizona Board of Regents and ASU policy, but ASU has since 2010 operated under a state constitutional provision that prohibits preferential treatment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public education.”

The university is refraining from making specific comments on the video.