A Response to Anti-D.E.I. Legislation in the Indiana State Assembly

Published February 7th, 2025

By Keaton Smith, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Unsurprisingly, in the era of the resurgence of alt-right reactionary politics, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are once again on the chopping block. From a historical perspective, the act of a politically Right party introducing legislation to pull back funding from social welfare programs is nothing new. From the Bush administrations, Reagan, Nixon, and so forth the Republican party has become quite fond of removing social safety nets and preventing the American government from addressing inequalities within our society. However, it is important to note the degree to which an anti-DEI trend exists now. Currently, we are at a tipping point risking the societal progress we have made since first-wave feminism in the turn of the twentieth century.

With the second Trump administration stepping into full swing we have already seen anti-DEI executive orders, and unsubstantiated claims of DEI causing plane crashes, that at the end of the day, all put marginalized groups at risk of violence, harm, and further exclusion from society. However, this anti-DEI movement is not isolated solely to the national level but is rather popular among the Indiana Republican party. This is shown through proposed legislation that wants to end the presence of DEI within educational institutions.

The two main instances of legislation that have yet to be passed are Senate Bills 235 and 289. Senate Bill 235 would ban state-funded colleges and universities from using their funding to finance DEI-related positions and initiatives on campus (IGA). However, due to the verbiage used, DEI includes everything from critical race theory, post-colonial theory, LGBTQ+ rights, feminist rights, and a plethora of institutions students depend on day to day such as food pantries and other agencies that help address class inequality. Senate Bill 289 would end mandatory DEI training in Indiana public schools (IGA). This would further separate marginalized students from a safe and successful learning environment.

The long-term effects of this proposed legislation would be nothing short of the solidification of the Indiana Brain Drain and an increase of inequality among our fellow Hoosiers. As it stands each year Indiana is seeing fewer and fewer people graduate from college (Indy Star). For those who graduate, many leave the state due to inadequate employment opportunities and a hostile political climate that targets many minorities. We will likely see increased dropout rates, increased inequality, and more instances of minority groups committing acts of self-harm.

Banning the visual presence of minority groups and eliminating social welfare projects has been done before, and has brought no benefit to anyone other than the White ruling class that takes sadistic pleasure in seeing people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, women, and lower classes suffer. This is not only a matter of whether or not pride flags can fly at campuses, but this is whether or not students can organize, food pantries can operate, and people can keep on living. This is not a performative anti-DEI act to appease the Republican base, this is an act of war against equality, human rights, and the future generations of Hoosiers. These laws must not pass at any cost, call your State House Representative and Senator (Contact Here) to make sure they do not pass Senate Bill 235 and Senate Bill 289.