The debate around DEI has got it all wrong

The culture wars have taken a wrong turn. As Chris Rufo, one of the chief ideologues leading the offensive against DEI in Florida, once put it: "The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think 'critical race theory… We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans." And while DEI shares some roots with the affirmative action movement, it has since evolved to encompass broader concepts of inclusivity of people from a range of backgrounds and perspectives, including race, ethnic and cultural background, religious affiliation, disability, gender and sexual orientation and unique cognitive perspectives that fall underneath the neurodiversity umbrella. As for the critics who say it's a form of indoctrination, I'm a firm believer that there is only one good response given the current political climate: DEI does not have a role in determining the content of school curriculums — that's what teachers are supposed to do. A bigger tent "I believe that state universities should be focused on teaching students how to think, not what to think" — DeSantis' turn of phrase keeps ringing in my ear.