TEMPE, AZ — The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a new Title VI investigation into allegations of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at Arizona State University.
In an announcement on Wednesday, the DOJ says recent viral videos indicate ASU "denied equal treatment to students based on race, color, or national origin - while attempting to hide its discriminatory practices from federal scrutiny — prompted the investigation."
“No student should be denied access to opportunities or resources because of race, color, or national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The United States is committed to keeping universities free of unlawful discrimination — especially when they try to hide illegal conduct to avoid oversight and compliance.”
Under the new federal law, colleges and universities that receive federal funding are required to "open their doors to students on an equal basis, regardless of race, color, or national origin," according to the DOJ.
The DOJ says it will investigate whether ASU subjects students to illegal discrimination through DEI policies in admissions, recruitment, scholarships, tutoring, and the provision of educational support.
ASU provided the following statement to ABC15 regarding the investigation:
Arizona State University complies fully with federal law and does not discriminate in admissions. Not only would doing so violate Arizona Board of Regents and ASU policy, but ASU has since 2010 operated under a state constitutional provision that prohibits preferential treatment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public education. ASU is aware of the Department of Justice’s press release regarding an investigation and of the “recent viral videos” referred to in it. The university has no comment on these videos, as ASU does not comment on secret video recordings of its employees who are not authorized to speak on behalf of the university."
The ABC15 Investigators verified that the videos referenced in the press release are from a non-profit called Accuracy in Media (AIM).
AIM refers to itself as a conservative news media watchdog group that was founded back in 1969.
The non-profit released videos online earlier this year that show members of the group going undercover, asking ASU staff about teaching DEI in the classroom.
The video titled “ASU Exposed” shows an undercover recording of an associate teaching professor with the School of Criminology & Criminal Justice being asked about DEI curriculum.
The associate teaching professor was asked in the undercover video if there’s inclusive curriculum in the criminal justice programs.
“I think that there definitely is that within the curriculum. Although you’re not going to see the reference as predominant as it was perhaps two years ago, but it’s still very much a part of the investigation,” the associate teaching professor said.
She went on to talk about an "Idea Office," saying, “designing our classes so that they are accessible, more accessible to everybody and you know that we are celebrating the diversity of our students and the populations that we serve.”
There were a total of seven videos that AIM created and shared online regarding ASU.
The President of AIM, Adam Guillette, said in an ABC15 interview that they don’t meet with professors, rather paid administrators to see what they have to say.
Guillette said they usually find and target staffers in the colleges of social work, education and criminology.
In an interview, Guillette said they have gone after universities all across the country, stating, "We meet with these people for just a few minutes, and they brag to us about defying state laws, defying executive orders and we're just a stranger off the street. I can only imagine what they would tell us if we earned their trust over six months, nine months."
ABOR policy can be found here.
ASU policy can be found here.
State constitutional provision can be found here.
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