They are like termites, borrowing in to everything and causing structural damage that isn’t obvious until the whole thing collapses.   The Ohio State University College of Engineering is committed to DIE. 

OSU has a nuclear reactor for training and research.  When hiring a Nuclear Engineering professor, they want a statement of loyalty to the DIE cause.

This is from The Ohio State University job posting for a tenure-track Nuclear Engineering professor.

Attachment 3: Diversity Statement (Pursuant to the university’s shared values the search committee will ask all applicants to provide a written statement that describes your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please provide specific examples such as teaching and/or mentoring students from underrepresented backgrounds, outreach activities to underrepresented groups, or conducting research that address social inequities)

At one point, diversity, inclusion and equity sounded benevolent, but now we know better.

Diversity:  People are reduced to their demographic value.  Quality is long term and hard to measure.  Diversity is easy to measure right now.  It’s too much to ask that Deans and hiring committees hire on demonstrated excellence when that could hurt their careers.  The quality of research and instruction is subordinate to having the correct number of people from favored identity groups. 

Inclusion:  What a person says and does matters less than how words and actions are interpreted by a person with more points on the identity privilege matrix.  Pretend fear by a privileged person causes real fear in everyone else.  It’s like living in that episode of Twilight Zone where Will Robinson has vast mental powers, and everyone has to suck up to him constantly.

Equity:  Equality of outcome means that individual aptitude and effort is irrelevant.  Why would a gifted and motivated person work hard if the outcome will be the same?  By definition, professors are smart.  They will see that grade distribution must reflect the appropriate demographics or questions will be asked.  Objective assessments are out.  Grade inflation is inevitable.

Go woke and go broke.  That rhymes and is true.  Embrace DIE and die.  Disney was the most loved company in America.  Now, it’s market capitalization and public perception has collapsed.  I attended Ohio State and loved my time there.  When OSU won the National Championship in 2002, it’s reputation and prestige went through the roof.  That can all be squandered. 

The state legislature in Ohio is attempting to ban the racist and sexist hiring policies of DIE.  If that legislation passes and the Board of Regents gets involved, OSU may be saved before it is ruined.  The Ohio State University has huge amounts of good will, but like Disney, that can be lost.