How the education of university students after me will suffer because of SB 17
Editor’s Note: This is part of our series on highlighting impacted voices from Texas universities who testified before the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education on May 14, 2024 on how SB 17 has impacted their lives.
Image source: Longhorn Center for Academic Equity, Strive Grad Prep Academy, Jan. 30, 2023 (accessed June 15, 2024).
Good afternoon, my name is Temi Idowu and I am a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. While I cannot be here in person today, I want to share some words about the impact of SB 17 and the culture of fear and censorship this bill has created.
The education of university students after me will suffer because opportunities for student success and professional development have been eliminated out of fear of retaliation from our own lawmakers.
“[O]ne thing that state legislators have gotten wrong about DEI programs is that they include, but they do not exclude. ”
Due to UT’s overcompliance of SB 17, the Division of Campus and Community Engagement got shut down this semester, and a multitude of services housed in this division either got reallocated or dissolved. I would like to talk about one of those services: the Strive Grad Prep Academy, which is open to all undergraduates, but emphasizes helping to widen pathways to graduate and professional school for students historically excluded from postgraduate education. Again, one thing that state legislators have gotten wrong about DEI programs is that they include, but they do not exclude.
I was part of the inaugural cohort of the Lessons in Leadership, a program provided by the Strive Grad Prep Academy that was discontinued following the closure of the DDCE in April. The Lessons of Leadership program provided support for students on how to network and how to navigate professional relationships. Programs like this are crucial for students to learn how to succeed in their professional career. While administrators claim that the DDCE sweep is necessary to “utilize our talent and resources most effectively in support of our teaching and research missions”; at the end of the day, students go to university to get a job.
DEI initiatives are crucial to equip students with the skills needed to excel in their careers and their adult lives. I hope you reconsider your attitudes on DEI initiatives in universities.
Thank you for your time. I hope you consider this testimony and provide an outlet for quality, inclusive education in Texas.