BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- A fifth ASU staffer, Kayla Elizondo-Nunez, confirmed ongoing DEI practices at Arizona State University despite a federal ban, stating, 'We are DEI.
- Other ASU faculty members also acknowledged the continuation of DEI initiatives, with some claiming it is inherent to education, even after legislative pressure to eliminate such programs.
- Similar admissions have been made by faculty at Kansas State University, where DEI-related courses are still offered, prompting criticism following the state's legislative action against DEI initiatives.
A fifth Arizona State University staffer admitted that the school continues its “diversity, equity, and inclusion” practices in an undercover video released Tuesday.
“We are DEI,” said Kayla Elizondo-Nunez, graduate program coordinator for ASU’s School of Social Transformation, despite a federal ban on the ideology. The video was captured by investigative group Accuracy in Media.
“We do have a good community. There are lots of other progressive communities around … the Phoenix area,” she told the undercover investigator.
Asked whether the school embraces antiracism, Elizondo-Nunez said, “Yeah, we do have a number of classes on racial theory.”
Four other ASU faculty members have made similar statements in videos captured by AIM.
“I know that the new legislation has asked us to eliminate it, but it’s in our hearts in education, so education has that just naturally,” recruitment specialist Veronica McDaniel said, as previously reported by The College Fix.
In another video, enrollment coach Megan Neumann said the school is still “actively” incorporating DEI.
In addition, an academic success advisor in the Psychology Department, said DEI is a “big part of … our goals.”
Finally, Associate Dean of Inclusive Design for Equity and Access Chandra Crudup was caught on video saying the school has changed its DEI language but is “still doing the same thing.”
Following the release of this video, federal watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust filed a federal complaint alleging the school is secretly continuing its DEI curriculum.
Reached for comment on these videos, ASU previously told The Fix it “complies fully with federal law and does not discriminate in admissions or scholarship selections.”
ASU faculty aren’t the only ones admitting that DEI persists at their school.
In an undercover video released this month, the head of the Social Work department at Kansas State University said the school still offers courses such as “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Practice” and “Race, Power, and Privilege.”
“I’m not gonna change it until somebody physically makes me,” Don Kurtz said in the video captured by an AIM investigator.
Last year, Kansas banned DEI initiatives in state agencies and the Board of Regents directed all public universities to eliminate DEI-related positions, policies, programs, and training.
In a 2025 survey, The Fix found that nearly 90 universities have simply rebranded their DEI offices rather than dismantling them following President Trump’s executive order deeming the ideology a violation of civil rights and discrimination laws.
MORE: UC faculty demand return of standardized test requirement amid math deficiency surge
