Recently, a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit University of Wisconsin officials from considering race and diversity when awarding state-funded financial aid was debated during a state Assembly committee hearing. Here’s the full story.
The New Law
The proposed legislation aims to restrict the criteria for awarding financial aid to students.
It requires the state Higher Educational Aids Board and officials at UW System schools and technical colleges to only consider financial need.
The Exclusion
The legislation says to exclude factors such as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or religion when granting financial aid and creating enrollment and retention plans.
The Background
This bill was introduced following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, which stated that universities could not consider race as a factor in the admissions process.
Extend Its Implications
While the ruling specifically pertains to admissions, some lawmakers have sought to extend its implications to financial aid decisions.
Forward-Thinking Measure
Republican Representative Nik Rettinger, the bill’s sponsor, defended the proposal by referring to it as a proactive and forward-thinking measure.
He said, “You don’t want to leave things in limbo to be potentially decided in litigation later.”
Targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs
This Wisconsin bill is part of a broader trend in which Republican lawmakers in multiple states have introduced legislation to target diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in higher education institutions.
The University System Budget Was Reduced
Earlier this year, Wisconsin GOP legislators reduced the university system’s budget by $32 million.
They decided to withhold pay raises for UW employees until the institution agreed to cut spending on DEI initiatives by that amount.
Decade-Long War on Higher Education
In response to the bill and the broader approach to higher education, Evers’ spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, criticized Republican lawmakers for waging a “decade-long war on higher education” and suggested that their focus should be on providing salary increases for tens of thousands of UW employees.
More Bills
In addition to the financial aid bill, the Assembly universities committee also debated several other bills.
Violate Free Speech Rights
One of these proposals seeks to withhold state grants from schools that repeatedly violate free speech rights on campus.
At the same time, another aims to prevent public universities and high schools from censoring opinions in student media or punishing student reporters for their editorial decisions.
“White Supremacy Strikes Again!”
Several social media users shared their thoughts on the incident.
One Twitter user wrote, “White supremacy strikes again! All government employees that judge others by their race or creed should be fired immediately.”
This Is Unconstitutional
Another user added, “Why would the government ever be able to do anything solely based on skin color? That would be unconstitutional.”
Opportunity Should Be Granted Based on Skin Color
A third user commented, “How weird. The Republicans oppose a plan that is blatantly racist. So ‘CCO, what’s your position?
Opportunity should be granted based on skin color. For home loans, jobs, promotions, benefits? I was brought up in an era where we taught our kids skin color doesn’t matter.”
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The post “White Supremacy Strikes Again!”Wisconsin Republicans Back Bill Banning Race-Based Financial Aid in Universities first appeared on Mama Say What?!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Jack_the_sparow. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
