My university is doing a voluntary Campus Culture Survey to all students, faculty, and administrators next semester. The reason of this survey is to "reaffirm a commitment to support inclusivity", "used to inform university priorities, target policy and program improvements, and more deeply integrate inclusivity", "to assess the current campus culture and climate integrating diversity, equity and inclusion", and let respondents share their "perspectives about existing attitudes, behaviors and standards concerning equity and inclusion".
According to Jonathan Haidt's Heterdox Academy, my university scored about 50 on a scale of 0-100, and endorsed Chicago principles of freedom of expression, so it isn't as radical as, say, Evergreen State College. It's only a survey collecting data, but I believe this is also one more step toward the horrors of Evergreen State College. Although the survey didn't specify the following, I think it goes my current values; I don't endorse affirmative action or equity policies, Crenshaw's intersectionality claim about oppressive groups of people not being able to see the perspective of oppressed groups of people, or the Marxist claim that an individual's paramount identity is group identity.
Should I protest or not protest this survey by, say, printing paper sign and hanging them around my campus urging everyone to not take it? There's six weeks left in the semester, and could take a lot of money and risk on my part. Is there another way to protest? Thanks in advance!
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I haven't acted on my protest yet, so nothing happened, but I've found at least one contradiction. On a Campus News page (an assessment by the Office of Inclusion Excellence posted a month ago), they say one key goal is to BALANCE academic freedom, freedom of expression and inclusivity, but on the same page, they state that the data gathered from the survey could have an impact on PRIORITIZING issues of diversity and inclusion.
I looked at my university's toolkit for free speech and hate speech, and my university considered a flyer with the words "Are you sick of anti-white propaganda in college? You are not alone." as a Campus Racial Incident since election 2016 and concluded discriminatory behaviors will not be tolerated, but to give the devil his due, the flyer directed viewers to an alt-right media platform. This makes me concerned about posting my flyers around campus, and am trying to develop alternative strategies.
What other strategies would be effective in protesting this survey? I'm considering going to the politically conservative group at my campus and see what they think. I'm also considering emailing the president of the OIX (which was suggested in email about the survey) and ask what university priorities they're going to inform, what target policy they want to change, and why precisely was equity used instead of equality, then act on my protest in some appropriate manner if they confirm it's for affirmative action or recruitment policies to fill equity quotas. In the FAQ page of this survey, the OIX stated they already launched a Strategic Diversity and Inclusion plan, which adds affirmative action plans, so that confirmed my suspicions to some degree.
Mufasa
Level 4
Mar 5, 2019
0
I believe one of the marginalized groups today are white supremacists. Does your college really want to "deeply integrate inclusivity" with them? What about other racist groups? If you treat each other based on group identity, aren't you marginalizing self identity? We should all "reaffirm a commitment to support inclusivity" (or just "support inclusivity" ) of individuals by denying the validity of group identity.
RobBlair
Level 8
Mar 5, 2019
0
Personally, I wouldnt take the survey, and I'd maybe tell my closest friends...but be careful. These crazy professors hand out the grades you are reliant on! Weigh your options and try to see forward to the possible consequences of whatever you decide to do. If you can live with whatever those consequences are...then go for it.i wish you luck!
Golda
Level 6
Mar 4, 2019
0
Golda,
I've definitely decided to protest by not participating so that's good advice, but I'm wondering if I should do it publicly or encourage others to do so publicly in some manner? I'm currently in a literature course and the first assignment was to read a piece of postmodern literature, so I did and wrote an essay on the half a dozen contradictions I found. There hasn't been any academic discipline or censorship on it yet, so I'm not too concerned about those consequences, but on the same token a course is a different reference point than the Office of Inclusive Excellence.
@Mufasa like I said...there WILL be consequences either way. My work through is usually lists...pros vs. Cons....seeing can sometimes make it easier to decide which will be right for you. This semester's teacher may not have an issue....next semester's teacher?? And the semester after that?? I would tell people I trust what I'm doing...let it spread QUIETLY.
If the survey is online, it’s also a way to track who said what. It’s a privacy/thought policing exercise. I would not trust it. I would be more likely to have conversations about it.
Lydia
Level 3
Mar 4, 2019
0
Lydia,
I never considered this could be a form of thought police. I looked into confidentially and if the survey is completed online it's sent to and tabulated by another website not owned by my university (which is concerned out student outcomes on the very first page), and it won't use "name or email address" for anything ... "except for this study".
I'd say protest. A little busy at the moment, but will get back to you later on that.
SpikeTalon
Level 10
Mar 4, 2019
0
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