Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
On Saturday, Dec. 7, I had the enjoyment of attending my daughter’s graduation from University of Idaho.
As a father, I enjoyed kicking back in the stands and watching the next Harnack generation matriculate. And, as you would expect, I was as proud as any dad in the crowd.
Aside from being Dad and enjoying the fanfare and Pomp and Circumstance, however, one part of the ceremony didn’t sit well with me — the push for so-called “DEI,” or diversity, equity and inclusion.
As I crossed the campus headed to the ceremony, the push for DEI became evident. There were signs, flags and other politically motivated efforts designed to brainwash our young adults.
And even during the graduation ceremony itself, the push for indoctrination was noticeable, with one girl displaying a DEI flag as she crossed the stage and received her diploma.
So much for dignity.
At first, I was dismayed that the university would allow such antics, on stage no less.
Then I got to thinking about the real issue — the indoctrination into a political culture that essentially stripped that unfortunate graduate of her successes. The DEI flag made a mockery of her hard work and studies while at University of Idaho.
Did she graduate just because she was admitted under the guise of diversity? Did she graduate because professors and the university just wanted her to feel included? Or was she on the stage as a show of equity?
I hope that wasn’t the case. I hope that she went to college, studied hard, learned and earned a degree based on her merits.
I hope she had a solid acadeic performance. I hope she learned enough to enter adulthood and be a successful, contributing member of society.
Instead, her antics left me believing she only graduated because of the color of her skin and her ethnic background. And for me, those are not reasons anyone should be in college, let alone earn a degree.
Maybe she pulled the flag stunt at the behest of a professor. Afterall, the Idaho State Board of Education has introduced a resolution to end discrimination that inately comes with DEI.
That resolution would require Idaho’s public universities to maintain equality of opportunity for all students — meaning a student would not get any preferential treatment based on skin color, gender or gender dysphoria.
The resolution would eliminate jobs and offices dedicated to dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. It would also end any suggestion that should should be addressed by “preferred pronouns” instead of those that relate to their actual gender.
The resolution in Idaho is among the first steps taken in the Pacific Northwest to end a program rooted solely in reverse discrimination. It is among the first to try to return universities to a merit-based educational system.
The resolution comes a year after the state of idaho enacted Senate Bill 1176, which eliminated state funding for DEI efforts and prohibits diversity statements as a condition of employment or admission at a college.
That law was obviously not enough, as the brainwashing has already taken place.
In one of his famous speeches, Martin Luther King, Jr., said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
That’s the kind of belief that needs to be instilled in our future leaders.
— Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Email him at [email protected].
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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