Status of DEI at the academies

rotarydad

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My 18-year-old just received his congressional nomination (huge relief!) and is applying to a number of the academies (I am so proud he wants to serve).

From a curriculum / training perspective, I was curious about the state of DEI at the academies.

Are topics such as systemic racism, white supremacy, and the oppressed/oppressor binary actually taught?

Is this changing?

I'm not issuing a value judgment here.

I just want to know, as a dad, if this stuff is still happening, what the outlook and what he can expect if he is fortunate enough to get a spot in next fall's class.

Thank you.
 
My 18-year-old just received his congressional nomination (huge relief!) and is applying to a number of the academies (I am so proud he wants to serve).

From a curriculum / training perspective, I was curious about the state of DEI at the academies.

Are topics such as systemic racism, white supremacy, and the oppressed/oppressor binary actually taught?

Is this changing?

I'm not issuing a value judgment here.

I just want to know, as a dad, if this stuff is still happening, what the outlook and what he can expect if he is fortunate enough to get a spot in next fall's class.

Thank you.
Hello Dad and welcome aboard.

Are topics such as systemic racism, white supremacy, and the oppressed/oppressor binary actually taught?

Is this changing?


Changing from what? Are you asking if it will be taught or stopped being taught?

I have no idea but can offer this. I teach in a high school medical sciences academy and in our curriculum is Cultural Diversity in Healthcare.
A couple years ago I had a parent email me and ask, no it sounded like a scream, "Why are you teaching my kid critical race theory?"

I don't usually answer emails like that but figured I'd play along. I said on email, "Sir, please define critical race theory."

He responded with, "I'll be speaking with your boss about this. I know what y'all are trying to do."

I gave my administrator a heads up and she made an appointment with him and emailed him herself. She said she was concerned about the allegations and would like for the three of us to meet. He accepted her meeting invitation and 3ish days later he was already in her office when I walked in. The look on his face when I didn't fit his stereotype was priceless. He stumbled through his concerns and I answered every one of them. The meeting adjourned and he left. My admin and I snickered up our sleeves.

I know I'm just a high school teacher but the curriculum is the curriculum. I teach what I'm supposed to without personal slants. It's served me well for a long time.

Anyway, I'm sure somebody with more knowledge will be along to answer your questions.
 
I am a youngster (second year) at USNA. I am female. I belong to a minority that has a small representation here. Just so you know.

We undergo professional training that emphasizes respect for all people and the value of all people. We have training and briefs on sexual harassment: what it looks like, what to do if we witness it, what to do if we are the subject of it. We all learn how to not put ourselves in situations where any of us, male, female, queer, Black, Latinx, could be taken advantage of or where your intentions could be misinterpreted (big one: don't drink yourself blotto). We learn that Blacks were segregated until 1948 and that gays and lesbians couldn't openly serve until 2011. We have discussions with experts about why we think or don't think that we are a better Navy for having Black, Latino, women, gay people etc. in our chains of command. One discussion in a class the professor asked us, "What is critical race theory?" and no one knew. I think that's probably true for a lot of people who oppose it.

I don't know what the exact curriculum is supposed to be. Someone else will have to tell you that. But the trainings and briefs and classes I've had so far all emphasize that everyone has worth, from E-1 to O-9, that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect for our shared humanity. We are constantly reminded that the teams of enlisted that we lead will include a wide range of people from histories and backgrounds that are very different from ours. I'd say the vast majority of my shipmates here accept people who are very different from them and acknowledge their value, regardless of how they voted or how privileged they might have grown up. I wouldn't want to serve in a Navy that operated any other way.
 
Hello Dad and welcome aboard.

Are topics such as systemic racism, white supremacy, and the oppressed/oppressor binary actually taught?

Is this changing?


Changing from what? Are you asking if it will be taught or stopped being taught?

I have no idea but can offer this. I teach in a high school medical sciences academy and in our curriculum is Cultural Diversity in Healthcare.
A couple years ago I had a parent email me and ask, no it sounded like a scream, "Why are you teaching my kid critical race theory?"

I don't usually answer emails like that but figured I'd play along. I said on email, "Sir, please define critical race theory."

He responded with, "I'll be speaking with your boss about this. I know what y'all are trying to do."

I gave my administrator a heads up and she made an appointment with him and emailed him herself. She said she was concerned about the allegations and would like for the three of us to meet. He accepted her meeting invitation and 3ish days later he was already in her office when I walked in. The look on his face when I didn't fit his stereotype was priceless. He stumbled through his concerns and I answered every one of them. The meeting adjourned and he left. My admin and I snickered up our sleeves.

I know I'm just a high school teacher but the curriculum is the curriculum. I teach what I'm supposed to without personal slants. It's served me well for a long time.

Anyway, I'm sure somebody with more knowledge will be along to answer your questions.
Oh shipmate - never JUST a high school teacher.
 
Thank you all for your answers. I'm curious to hear as many perspectives as possible. BTW, this is a great forum (thank you for whoever set it up). It's helped ease some anxiety in the application process for my son.
 
As you all could probably guess based on what sort of college I attended, we had a lot of diversity training during my time in undergrad. I didn’t really appreciate the full value of such training as an undergrad in a bubble that was my college in New England. At the time, I found it got repetitive semester after semester tbh. Now, being out in the real world working with others from different backgrounds, hindsight 20/20: that training has actually been super helpful in my life. Not just with actively being inclusive towards my shipmates, but also those seminars taught me how to better communicate with others when uncomfortable situations have arisen (mainly due to my gender). Instead of getting accusatory towards someone and assuming the worst about the situation, I’ve learned how to work together with them and help prevent future incidents
 
I think DEI has peaked and is on it's way out across academia and the private sector (META, Amazon, McDonalds, Ford, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Coors, and many more). As somebody who is a faculty member at a college, 4-5 years ago, DEI was the end all be all. The past 1-2 years, I don't think I have heard the words even uttered by anyone in the administration. I don't have any inside knowledge on the service academies, but based on the incoming administration, whatever is left of it at the academies won't be around much longer. Different people have different opinions, but what it comes down to in most places is not "learning about other cultures" or "cultural diversity". Most people wouldn't have a problem with that. 20+ years ago, I took World Religions and nobody thought anything about it. Today, many people are teaching that white people are bad and the US is a racist country. Many places are specifically hiring and excluding based on traits like race or gender. These are not conspiracy theories. I once heard a colleague say in all seriousness that "blacks are still experiencing slavery today". When I see terms above used like "Latinx" (a term that 90% of people with Hispanic roots oppose by the way), that is definitely a sign that somebody has gone through the training. One of the biggest stories in this area was the University of Michigan has spent about 450 million dollars on DEI initiatives and the students feel worse about race than before they started. They have been one of the biggest proponents and have just announced they are scrapping many initiatives. There are actually tons of studies that show that diversity training actually has negative effects going back decades.
 
DEI is anathema to MLK's dream of a day when a person was judged "not by the color of his skin, but the content of his character."

How we ever got that far away from MLK's vision -- one that seems so common sense to me -- as a society I do not know. However, I do hope 2025 ushers in a shift back toward it and a belief that America is place for ALL people to come together in UNITY that's not based on race or religion but on common values and common purposes that bind us together as citizens of this great nation.

And with MLK Day just around the corner, it seems an appropriate time to be having this discussion.
 
DEI is alive and well at the USNA.

D-iversity
E-xcellence
I-ntegrity

I’d bet a dollar that DEI curriculum would find its hardest sell among the women and minorities attending the USNA. I’d love to watch somebody try to sell my daughter on the idea that she needs extra “consideration" because she is a girl.

I do think a better focus might be on the quality of instruction and the range of educational opportunities at SA's (and the USNA) rather than worrying about what ideas DS might be exposed to. I’’m sure your DS is a smart kid, and at 17-18 he should have his own BS-meter.

As a student of quantitative economics in undergrad I read just about everything Marx ever wrote. I had Profs who were Communists, Socialists, Anarchists, Market Capitalists. All of them informed me, but I drew my own conclusions. In fact sorting through/evaluating all those different ideas was educational in and of itself.

I get the concern expressed here. I agree that turning grade-school and middle-school kids into oppressors and victims is wrong. I also think a concentration of DEI in lieu of Math, Econ, Chem, Philosophy is lazy and a disservice to students. That said, an 18yr ought to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff in what he/she is exposed to in college.

I bet he’ll end up wishing he was in a DEI class instead of first year Chem. 😂
 
The CG Commandant may have been relieved due to concerns over border security and an emphasis on DEI. This may provide insight into the original thread question regarding the status of DEI at the academies. I have included a variety of sources to ensure a balanced perspective.

 
With POTUS’ new EO rescinding the non-discrimination and affirmative action policies enacted under the LBJ administration, will the federal government really be able to discriminate according to protected classes now?

I was fully supportive of ending DEI/affirmative action but from what I can tell this goes a little too far in the opposite direction and removes the non-discrimination clause that, theoretically, protected all people.
 
I was fully supportive of ending DEI/affirmative action but from what I can tell this goes a little too far in the opposite direction and removes the non-discrimination clause that, theoretically, protected all people.
Yeah, that was kinda hidden in there. Not sure what this means for employment equal opportunity and military equal opportunity programs.

Some reasonable accommodation (e.g. parental/medical leave, disability protections) stuff rolled up in these programs that are outside of the diversity stuff. Not a lawyer, there's probably other laws out there to capture those protections outside of executive orders.
 
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Not a lawyer, there's probably other laws out there to capture those protections outside of executive orders.
Yes that’s sort of what I assumed as well. I had heard that other EO’s still offered those protections. Between that and the Civil Rights act I would hope the protections still exist somewhere.
 
With POTUS’ new EO rescinding the non-discrimination and affirmative action policies enacted under the LBJ administration, will the federal government really be able to discriminate according to protected classes now?

I was fully supportive of ending DEI/affirmative action but from what I can tell this goes a little too far in the opposite direction and removes the non-discrimination clause that, theoretically, protected all people.
It is not allowing discrimination against protected classes. The point is that there should be no preference based on race, gender, etc. If you are giving preference to one group, by definition you are discriminating against another group. The point of the order is that hiring should be race/gender blind and based on merit or other objective criteria, not race. That is what the Civil Rights Act created, but with affirmative action type policies, race and gender preferences and quotas were created. We often think the Civil Rights Act only protects minorities, but it protects everyone from discrimination. You can say that you want to hire more minorities, but you can't exclude people just because of race. Conversely, you can't exclude minorities, specific religions, gender, etc. either. Everyone is protected equally.

Full Order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presiden...nation-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/

Good insight: https://www.thefp.com/p/coleman-hughes-the-end-of-dei
 
Any data/analysis on whether the elimination of affirmative action (Executive Action this week) will create race and gender-blind admissions this year? Is it the status quo, or will there be changes to eliminate preferences?
 
Any data/analysis on whether the elimination of affirmative action (Executive Action this week) will create race and gender-blind admissions this year? Is it the status quo, or will there be changes to eliminate preferences?
I would cautiously assume that since the EO applies across the board to federal agencies and the DoD, then the Academies would be included in that.

I’m curious as to how this will affect the future lawsuits that are in the pipeline for the Supreme Court to tackle AA at the academies. The EO could be rescinded by the next administration, theoretically allowing the academies to reimplement AA, so without a court ruling AA could continue.
 
I would cautiously assume that since the EO applies across the board to federal agencies and the DoD, then the Academies would be included in that.

I’m curious as to how this will affect the future lawsuits that are in the pipeline for the Supreme Court to tackle AA at the academies. The EO could be rescinded by the next administration, theoretically allowing the academies to reimplement AA, so without a court ruling AA could continue.
Future lawsuits will have defendants less eager to win.
 
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