Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
By Tony Ortiz
I can no longer sit here and watch our current administration eliminate programs that benefit our students, our schools, and our communities.
On Jan. 20, the president issued Executive Order 13985: eliminating DEI into virtually all aspects of the federal government. On Feb. 12, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 1 prohibiting DEI in higher education.
There’s been a lot of misuse and manipulation of the term “DEI,” which stand for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. As a lifelong educator who taught at Wright State University for 31 years and served the Ohio Attorney General’s office and the Ohio Department of Administrative Services under Mike Dewine, I am well equipped to debunk the myths and fears about DEI in our current political climate.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion is not a hand-out, it’s a hand-up. At its core, DEI breaks down the mental roadblocks we put up about ourselves and others. It helps us better understand how we talk about ourselves and how we talk to others who are different from us. DEI services provide practical communication methods and procedures that are not taught in traditional coursework and involve soft skills that can benefit everyone in personal and professional settings.
These programs not only provide scholarships, but offer a safe space and resources for these students to remain in class and graduate. DEI offices teach students not to hide their identity, but to utilize their culture with their higher education to provide better opportunities for themselves, their families and our country.
Being the only brown face in an all-white space can be very isolating and alienating. These centers bridge that gap, uniting us by our differences — not dividing us. DEI programs become the students' home away from home. Sometimes, this is the first place where they feel they belong.
