UF has fired all staff in positions related to DEI.

I get a kick out of these threads - mostly middle aged to senior white men who had an easy time of it and open doors, now deciding women and POC don’t face discrimination. According to them, racism and sexism no longer exists. Also note how few actual points are made in this thread on why it should be stopped. There are posts with thoughtful and concise points supporting DEI, but 12 pages and nothing backing why it should be shut down.

 

www.google.com

 

So you have no source . . . who woulda guessed?

 

Your assumptions and conclusions here are quite bold (and wrong). Yes, I'm a middle-aged white guy. Grew up poor in an urban environment. 1 parent died when I was in my early teens, so basically grew up in a single-parent household. Went to college 100% on loans - which I fully paid back. Shocking, I know, because today I could claim I was a "victim" of a lender and that I'm entitled to have my loans forgiven even though I knowingly borrowed the money because it was the only way I could afford to forge a path towards a better future.

Contrary to your post, I don't see anyone here saying women or "people of color" don't face discrimination. Please point out the post saying that "racism and sexism no longer exist." You won't find it, because everyone knows they exist. Overcoming that discrimination to provide equality of OPPORTUNITY is important. But hiring someone, or promoting them, or letting them into a school, etc. based on their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. doesn't help anyone. Rather, it encourages people in those DEI groups to continue thinking of themselves as "victims" who are powerless to control their own destiny. How about we focus on providing equal resources (i.e., OPPORTUNITY) to EVERYONE of EVERY race, religion, gender, etc. Then, do the hiring, promoting, admitting, etc. based on MERIT. As another poster said, I don't care if my heart surgeon is a blue transgender alien, if they are the best doctor I want them operating on me. Conversely, if they got hired at the hospital because they're transgender despite subpar medical credentials relative to other applicants, I don't want them touching me (and neither do you, if you're honest rather than politically correct).

Equality of opportunity for everyone. Not equality of outcome.

 

Poster seems to believe college DEI programs are integral to corporate hiring and promotion programs. Is there a link to show that?

 

If you're not sure how what I posted argued against your point of nobody should care about diversity in medicine, I recommend you work on your literacy or go back and actually read the post in full. I posted a number of studies showing that Black patients have better health outcomes when treated by Black doctors, that Black people in counties with Black primary care physicians live longer, and that white medical students and residents believe dangerous myths about Black people that affect treatment.

So continue to derp on about "merit" and how you can't understand how a group of people we treated as slaves then second-class citizens until less than 60 years ago hasn't completely overcome that. And then continue to ignorantly complain about our universities wanting to take steps to support people of color interested in medical school when studies show it will improve and save lives.

P.S. The trainings and curricular work in medical schools to combat biases that you mentioned, guess who was responsible for leading that effort? I'll give you a hint. It was the DEI Dean and committee at the medical school.

 

That's not equality of opportunity. That goes right back to my point about me and the blind person. Different groups face different challenges and barriers. Treating them exactly the same only serves to further the inequalities of opportunity. It's simply a denial of the realities in this country.

P.S. Almost nobody hires on "merit." That was true long before DEI or affirmative action came about. It'll be true long after those things are gone.

 

You missed my point. But never mind. I decided to entertain myself with a brief excursion over here to observe the reactions to this. No surprise — the rationalization process over here is just head-scratching. I’m out

 

Sometimes I find with children using pictures helps. Another word people often use for the remove the barrier picture is “justice”. Whatever that is.

 

Yes many of us grew up in a single parent household and not well-off. But to think as middle aged white guys we faced challenges from early on our PoC & women counterparts did, imo isn’t accurate. And yes, racism and sexism still exists.

 

How does one provide equal resources to everyone? That seems like it is a bit of an issue in a society where you can purchase resources and people have different amounts of money, with many of those differences being multi-generational originating at times in which government policy enforced differences in certain resources.

 

There are obstacles for all of us. Being a white man is not one of them.

 

Okay, just for a specific point of discussion, what is the single most significant impediment to achieving equity for all students at UF?

 

Napier should add these fired folks to his army of staff members, hopefully to help get more equality against football opponents.

 

You might be onto something. Instead of all this namby-pamby tolerance and inclusion BS programs, we could just have different colleges for different people. We could have several for the "regular" students, a couple for those pesky minority groups and even one for the queer folk. No getting used to other groups' ways, let them tolerate their own kind.

I even came up with a name for this program for you...wait for it..."Separate but Equal."

You're welcome. I feel like my work here is done.

 

I think the real issue is getting rid of professionals who don't provide an equal level of care for everyone, not trying to make your staff look like a beer commercial with a token member of every race and religion.

Fwiw, I completely understand the issues minorities in this country face, many of my family members are descendants from slaves in the alachua and levy area. Some are successful business owners and landowners. Others aren't. Not because of things that happened 100 years ago but because of decisions on how they choose to live everyday. They have agency and it's funny to see you take that away while pretending to fight for them. My children could directly benefit from initiatives based on diversity and so could my finances for things like college tuition.

Come to think of it there is another real issue. Do you not think black children can become doctors without special treatment?

 

Of course different groups face different challenges and barriers. No doubt about it. I'm not treating you and the blind guy the same. But I also wouldn't hire the blind guy to be my driver just in the name of "equity" because he's not qualified to drive a car. Conversely, if I run a company and the blind guy is well qualified for specific role, and I exclude him from my interview / hiring process simply because he's blind then that's a problem.

 

All sorts of groups have voluntarily set up their own "center" on campus to congregate with people of the same race, gender, religion, etc. They weren't forced to do that. I have no problem with it but it does seem like voluntary self-segregation. Isn't it the opposite of inclusion and "getting used to other groups' ways" (your words)? I'm all for one big melting pot with equal opportunities for everyone.

 

Tell me what "equity" means and I can begin to think about how to answer that.

 

Everyone doesn't require an "equal level of care." A disabled veteran might require more support from the university's DEI office than I would. Same might be true for a first-generation college student. I'm not being mistreated because others are getting "more" support when I already have that support coming from other sources or don't have to deal with the same challenges or barriers they do.

If you think things that happened 100 or 60 years ago have no impact on people today, there's not much left to say. If you see acknowledging the denial of opportunity that has historically existed and the denial of equal opportunity that persists today as robbing your family members of "agency," again, there's not much left to say.

Also, by the way you're wording this, I take it that you yourself are not descended from slaves? I am guessing this is your way of telling me that you're married to a Black woman?

Nope. We have Black doctors. It's my way of saying if we removed barriers and provided more support that there would be more Black doctors, and that would be a good thing for our society.
Students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups face more barriers and are less likely to apply to and attend medical school