AUSTIN (KXAN)—Routine audits of the University of Texas Austin’s website are flagging words related to diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI.
This is part of the university’s effort to find potential DEI programs or events that are no longer allowed, according to a UT spokesperson. State lawmakers banned DEI programs or events on public university campuses earlier this year.
A post of some of the words UT is reportedly flagging circulated online. Some of those words included:
- Diversity
- DEI
- Diverse
- DEAI
- Equity
- Equitable
- Inclusive
- Inclusion
- Safe space
- BIPOC
- Implicit bias
- Intersectionality
- Anti-racist
- Opression
- Gender identity
- LGBTQ
- Lesbian
- Gay
- Bisexual
- Trans
- Queer
- Nonbinary
- Decolonize
- Colonizer
- Marginalized
- Underserved
- Microagression
- Whitness
- Anti-Colonialism
- Institutional racism
- Systematic racism
- White privilege
- White fragility
- Social justice
- Bias
- Racism
- Minority
- Latino
- Latinx
- Latina
- Privilege
- Ally
“Those words describe friends of mine, and that’s really concerning to me,” Annie Franklin, a UT Austin student in the College of Liberal Arts, said.
Some students worry this could affect their classes.
“It’s just way too ambiguous of an action,” Raquel Rubiano, UT Austin student in the College of Liberal Arts said.
UT said the words it flags aren’t banned or deleted from their website or any curriculum.
“The university routinely scans its website as a means to identify programming or events, unrelated to academic and research functions, that may not be permitted under SB17. The scans were first implemented in fall 2023 in advance of the law’s effective date and include a list of terms that are guides for identifying potentially non-compliant functions that require review.”
University of Texas at Austin
“But professors are going to feel scared, administrators are going to feel scared, students are going to feel scared when they’re being told that their language is being watched in this way,” Franklin said.
According to UT, it said less than 1% of content highlighted in these scans has been found to be in violation of rules
SB 17 does require universities to continue ongoing efforts to stay in compliance with the law.
It’s not clear how many DEI-related words have been flagged on UT’s website, since it started these audits last fall.
KXAN was told we’d need to file a public open records request to get that information.
According to UT employees, there’s also an upcoming mandatory SB 17 training, but it’s not clear which employees will be required to do that.
