On Dec. 18, the University of Idaho officially closed six of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices after many rumors speculated of this happening before winter break. Despite the closure, students and staff who were involved with the disbanded programs continue to show discontent over the decision.
DEI was once an umbrella term that many UI programs fell under including the Office of Equity and Diversity, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Diversity Center, the Black/African American Cultural Center, the LGBTQA Office and the Women’s Center, all of which have now been shut down.
This decision was prompted by the Idaho State Board of Education when they voted to ban DEI offices from four-year higher education institutions across the state in December. Amongst the affected are Boise State University, University of Idaho, Idaho State University and Lewis-Clark State College.
The closing of these programs leaves many with a bitter taste. Many former DEI employees were hired to different positions at the university. Mario Pile, former Director of the Black African American Cultural Club (BAACC), is one of them.
Newly appointed as the Associate Director of the Department of Student Involvement at UI, Pile said that he had trouble predicting when UI would close its DEI offices.
“There have been constant rumors that these centers are unfair somehow, but they were really just rumors,” Pile said. “A lot of it feels more like [we were] caught off guard, but not shocked.”
Lysa Salsbury, former Director of the Women’s Center and current professor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and advisor of the student organization SOGI-A (Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Association), wasn’t at all shocked by the announcement.
“Yes, we’ve known this was coming for some time now,” Salsbury said. “Senate Bill 1357, proposed last year, specifically named all of the offices in the Equity & Diversity Unit and each of their staff as offices and positions that should be cut. It was extremely disappointing but not at all surprising that this has happened.”
The Idaho State Board of Education’s resolution to prohibit DEI offices in higher education was officially passed on Wednesday, Dec. 18, and has been taking effect throughout the state. Although it is not required to be fully implemented until June 30, 2025, UI and BSU have already begun to take action.
In the official document titled, “A resolution of DEI ideology in higher education,” the ISBoE explained the parameters of what’s to come for DEI programs across the state.
An excerpt from the document stating the specifics of the resolution declare:
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that institutions shall not establish or maintain a central office, policy, procedure, or initiative that promotes DEI ideology. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that institutions shall ensure that no student resource or student success center serves students based on DEI ideology.”
Pile knows the toll the absence of DEI programs will have on students. In the future, he projects that the lack of DEI offices will hurt the campus community.
“In the meantime, students are going to engage because they’re here. What will that look like a year from now? I think there will be a big difference in how students engage,” Pile said. “I think that engagement will change as there’s not a dedicated person creating spaces for those conversations to be had.”
The students being affected the most by this ruling are the ones who were once involved with the different departments.
Karina Simplot, a former student-staff member of the Women’s Center described the dimness that has set in on campus since the closures.
“The impact of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Black and African American Cultural Center, the Women’s Center, and the LGBTQIA office was immense. These centers weren’t just spaces to occupy, they were a valued contribution to Moscow culture,” Simplot said.
Another former student-staff member of the Women’s Center, Max Silva, has already seen the student body be affected.
“I witnessed and heard people talk about possibly moving to different out-of-state colleges or dropping out entirely due to these changes,” Silva said. “The Women’s Center has helped me with personal struggles and told me that I am not alone. I can’t imagine the people in the future who will need this support now that it’s gone.”
While the new resolution prevents the establishment of any type of DEI programs, UI announced a new first-generation program that will begin in Spring 2025 as an effort to continue providing support for students.
Wanting to continue to work with students and help positively impact their lives, Pile hopes that the new program will be beneficial for all.
“A student from a migrant family, who maybe the family doesn’t speak English, has significantly different needs than a veteran who has served for 20 some years, but has never done education,”Pile said. “Those are two people that require way different approaches, and so I hope that even in such a large term, what we don’t do is then put them all in the same bowl and think they’ll all eat the same cereal. They all require different types of breakfasts and different types of approaches.”
While programs may be closed, those who found community in them, like Salsbury, are proud of the work of DEI. The Women’s Center, she knows, will have a lasting legacy.
“I am so incredibly proud of all the work we did over the 52 years we were open. Enrollment of women students at the University of Idaho went from 35% in 1972 to 51% today,” Salsbury said. “There are many programs and services that will endure, thanks to the work of the Women’s Center.”