Students to rally ahead of UNC Board of Governor's vote to repeal DEI policies
Policies for diversity, equity and inclusion are set to be repealed at all UNC system schools during Thursday's meeting.
While the UNC board of Governors will gather to make their final vote, dozens of students are expected to also gather in the morning to express their concerns over repealing DEI policies.
Thursday's vote comes after weeks of debate about diversity, equity and inclusion policies among state lawmakers.
The campus trustees said cutting DEI on campus would save $2.3 million, based on a report from 2021. They’d like to divert the funds to campus police instead.
“DEI is divisive,” Dave Boliek, a UNC-Chapel Hill trustee who is also this year’s Republican Party nominee for state auditor, said during a meeting. “I don't think it's productive.”
Democratic leaders argue DEI has made students from an increasingly diverse North Carolina feel welcome. Democrats also say repealing these policies could drive new businesses away from our state.
"I talk to legislators in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia. They’re telling me, ‘you keep going this way, we’re already going after your future industry,'" said Democratic Representative Maria Cervania.
If the policy change goes through, not only would DEI goals and initiatives be removed, but several DEI related job positions would be changed or eliminated.
WRAL News will stay on top of what comes out of the board’s final decision and provide updates as they are released.
