Colleges and universities are not even trying to pretend anymore to offer substantial curriculum to prepare our young, brilliant minds for the real world. Take the latest from State University of New York (SUNY).

According to The New York Post, SUNY is now offering a new racial equity class. Scratch that. SUNY is now requiring said new racial equity class. Yep. You need to take it if ya wanna graduate, kids.

Students must now take a class from the DEISJ category. Note: we are no longer referring to DEI as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We now have to add onto this little abbreviation, too, because that is what good liberal citizens do. The category is now appropriately referred to as DEISJ. Gotta throw Social Justice in there somewhere. The SJWs at college, students and professors alike, are feeling left out. And SUNY wouldn’t want to not be diverse enough. Or equitable enough. Or inclusive enough, we suppose. What sorts of things are these young, spry kids entering the colleges that are part of the SUNY system required to master in order to graduate? These bullet points, according to SUNY docs:

● describe the historical and contemporary societal factors that shape the development of individual and group identity involving race, class, and gender;
● analyze the role that complex networks of social structures and systems play in the creation and perpetuation of the dynamics of power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity; and
● apply the principles of rights, access, equity, and autonomous participation to past, current, or future social justice action.”-Guidance from University Faculty Senate and Faculty Council of Community Colleges to Campuses on Approving Courses for the DEISJ Requirement, SUNY

Race. Because it’s all about race. And class? Damn all of the white, rich people (who fund college endowments and support largely Democratic institutions such as colleges and universities). And gender? What is gender? How many genders are there, anyway? And, parents, oh parents? What are your hard-earned dollars going towards funding, exactly? A bunch of holier-than-thou professors resting upon their tenure and collecting six-figure salaries to come up with this utter BS, that’s what:

A University Faculty Senate (UFS) Task Group, Faculty Council of Community colleges (FCCC) Academic Affairs Committee, and the SUNY Council on Assessment (SCoA) have jointly developed a sample rubric to serve as guide, which is posted to the SUNY General Education framework page and the SCoA website.”-SUNY

And, they want to decide your students’ fate by requiring them to take these waste of space classes.

Nicholas Giordano, a political science professor at SUNY’s Suffolk Community College, is not in agreement with this initiative:

DEISJ is a cultural movement, not based on academics. Unfortunately, SUNY responded to the mob.”-Nicholas Giordano

Because why would anything be based on academics when institutions are attempting to “even the playing field”? Math? Racist, sexist. The English language and being able to read? Raaaaaaacist and a symbol of brutal colonialism. Grades? Unjust and unfair (pout).

The “mob” and initiatives began rolling out in 2021 when the 25-point “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Act” plan aimed at closing “racial equity gaps”. We have former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his hand-picked chancellor, James Malatras to thank. for that one. Remember that guy? Take a look:

The plan, hatched by Cuomo and Malatras, aimed to “Embed Racial Equity into Curriculum and Toward Racial Equity.”

We completely understand if you went cross-eyed reading that last sentence. Read it again and your eyes may very well disappear into your brain permanently.

By recognizing and celebrating our diversity and fostering respectful dialogue and debate, SUNY provides students with the world-class education they deserve.”-SUNY Chancellor John King

Here’s the deal. If a young adult cannot engage in recognizing and celebrating the diversity of other cultures, races, religious groups-what have you-by the time they are in college, they may be SOL. This process begins in the home. And, let’s just throw this out there. Any debate that calls one side “inherently racist” simply based on the color of their skin and not their character is not exactly a debate that is steeped in “fostering respectful dialogue”.

Exposure to, and understanding of, diversity is essential to success in our modern society and economy. As a leader in preparing the future workforce and citizenry, SUNY is committed to embedding diversity into the foundation of all it does – from academics to campus life and everything in between.”-SUNY Chancellor John King

Translation: exposure is essential to success in our modern society and economy. In other words, your students will only be successful in society and the economy and in their future workplaces if they buy into these ideas. And the systems in place are are going to do everything they can to ensure they buy into these ideas. SUNY is not pioneering this process. College is a last-ditch effort. They’re starting in elementary schools. Just take a look at WA State’s Senate Bill, 5441. Big money, big consultancies (paid for by your tax dollars) and big changes to curriculum are coming.

Education is no longer about the basics anymore; it has become more about a cultural shift. Want a degree in mathematics, physics, law or medicine in the higher tiers of education? Better knock out that DEISJ requirement before med school or taking that BAR exam. You will not be able to graduate (much less function as a human being) without it. Since we’re on the DEISJWXYZ route, perhaps students could all give themselves A’s in the class and move the hell on. Grading is also racist, isn’t it? And besides, if you identify, you are. So, if a student identifies as having taken said class, he/she/they/them/ver/per/xie/zem (whatever) should magically be “enrolled” in said class.

Dear sweet Baby Jesus, can we just got back to the “Underwater Basket Weaving” elective?

Photo Credit: Roy Saplin via Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons/Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)