On Monday, the University of Utah announced on their Instagram page that their LGBT resource center will close by the end of the month. They shared on their page a post with the caption, “Let’s come together to honor the center’s legacy of support, advocacy, and resilience, as well as to honor the 21 years of commitment that went into creating a safe environment where everyone is valued, not despite their identities, but because of them,” with the hashtags “#proudpast #hopefulfuture.” They extend an invitation to the community to participate on June 28.
The state’s governor signed House Bill 261 back in January. The Republican-led bill mandates that any government-funded institution in Utah must restrict the inclusion of diverse groups and replace them with more generalized ones.
Several marginalized groups, including the LGBT Resource Center, Black Cultural Center, American Indian Resource Center, Dream Center, and Center for Equity and Student Belonging, have closed and will now fall under student affairs. As well, staff members from those resource centers will now be placed in positions within student affairs.
The University of Utah has not yet confirmed that the closure of these resources is a result of the passage of HB261, according to The Daily Utah Chronicle. The university must comply with the new rules, which forbid the university and other government-funded institutions from using the phrases “equity,” “inclusion,” or “diversity” in any of their policies or activities.
According to Forbes, legislators in 30 states have proposed over 100 anti-DEI laws as of early this month. A recurring issue in state-level legislation is the abundance of proposals that are essentially copy-pasted from one another. Politician Wendy Davis confirms this. “Rarely are these state laws original,” she tells Forbes. “Some conservative organizations create templated legislation that red states can pass on issues ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to anti-DEI education bills. This has proven to be an effective strategy, as recent national abortion rights and affirmative-action rulings have punted legislation back to states.”
