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Federal watchdog group files second complaint against school
Arizona State University is facing a new federal complaint alleging it has secretly continued its “diversity, equity, and inclusion” curriculum by rebranding terminology to evade scrutiny.
Federal watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust filed the complaint following an undercover video of an associate dean admitting, “It’s all still happening.”
“Associate Dean of Inclusive Design for Equity and Access and Clinical Associate Professor Chandra Crudup declared that the university changed the language of its DEI programs, to go unnoticed, but ‘we are still doing the same thing,’” the complaint states.
It also states that this effort is “widespread,” as the school has an “inclusion network” in nearly every office of the university that provides faculty tools to embed DEI into curriculum.
The undercover video, captured by Accuracy in Media, shows Crudup saying the school has “shifted” some of its language to “get ahead” of a DEI ban and “not become a target.”
The school is “still supporting individuals and groups … that are disadvantaged in a number of ways,” she said.
“We started changing language, but we’re still doing the same thing,” she said.
PPT’s complaint notes that this is not the first time an ASU faculty member has made this admission.
Rebecca Loftus, associate director of ASU’s criminology department, previously acknowledged that DEI remains part of the curriculum and that staff have concealed the ideology.
“Given that now two officials at ASU have made similar statements, we believe these actions extend far beyond a few employees and may be orchestrated, endorsed, or sanctioned by higher-ranking officials within this institution,” the complaint states.
Further, it states that federal law prohibits discrimination in federally funded education programs based on race, color, national origin, or sex. Therefore, a university violates these statutes if it gives preference to one race or sex over another.
“There is overwhelming evidence that ASU is continuing its practice of promoting DEI on its campus … The practices are still illegal. And, perhaps, those accreditors should also be investigated,” the complaint states.
PPT also filed a federal civil rights complaint against North Carolina State University this month after a staffer was similarly caught on camera admitting officials still run DEI programming despite a ban on the ideology, The College Fix reported.
Last year, The Fix conducted a survey and found that nearly 90 universities have simply rebranded their DEI offices rather than dismantling them.
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