Incoming freshmen at SUNY’s 64 campuses must take a course focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice if they want to get their diploma.
Whatever class a student decided to take, it must “describe the historical and contemporary societal factors that shape the development of individual and group identity involving race, class and gender,” according to State University of New York documents, obtained by the New York Post.
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The racial equity course must also “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 finally, the student needs to be able to “apply the principles of rights, access, equity, and autonomous participation to past, current, or future social justice action.”
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“This is nuts. Why are they doing this?!” asked Nicholas Giordano, a political science professor at SUNY’s Suffolk Community College.
“DEISJ is a cultural movement, not based on academics,” he continued. “Unfortunately, SUNY responded to the mob.”
Giordano accused the new curriculum of portraying the United States as “inherently racist,” and is seeking to have students “defined by the colour of their skin” and creating groups to pit them against each other.
“To tell [minority students] they can’t compete with a white person is insulting and racist.”
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Jerry Kassar, chairman of the Conservative Party of New York, said SUNY’s new coursework is akin to the debate over whether younger children should learn about critical race theory.
“This is a woke, left-wing agenda,” he told the Post. “It’s disturbing. It’s dangerous. They’re treating everybody as having prejudice. It’s like a socialist, Communist state.”
SUNY Chancellor John King defended the curriculum as a way of cultivating tolerance and understanding – even though significant changes will need to be made to existing curriculum.
“Exposure to, and understanding of, diversity is essential to success in our modern society and economy,” he said in a statement. “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.”
He added: “By recognizing and celebrating our diversity and fostering respectful dialogue and debate, SUNY provides students with the world-class education they deserve.”
