State Rep. Carl Tepper (R-District 84) applauded the University of Texas System Board of Regents’ decision to temporarily halt all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within its colleges.
“I’m pleased to see so many other states follow Texas’ lead, once again,” Tepper said in a release. “While I strongly believe that public universities should allow a wide variety of debates and opinions, universities should not use taxpayer dollars to inculcate students with negative values.”
The Austin-American Statesman reported the board’s decision, saying it had ordered a review of all policies related to DEI. The decision came after concerns were raised by certain legislators and members of the public that the policies could limit free speech and impose certain ideologies on students.
“Diversity on college campuses is in itself a noble mission, but the practice of reverse discrimination and hostile attacks on contemporary America is counterproductive,” said Tepper, who has filed three House bills to prohibit DEI initiatives at the state’s public universities.
Tepper said public universities in Texas have a large minority and international student body.
“I pray this tradition continues, and I suspect that it will––with or without these offices of questionable mandate,” Tepper said. “With the exponentially increasing costs of higher education, the State of Texas should cease all wasteful spending on activism that, in practice, exacerbates racial division and disharmony. We are proud Americans and Texans, and public dollars should in no way counter that fundamental viewpoint."
According to the Statesman article, the DEI policies in question were designed to promote equity and inclusion on campus. However, the article noted that some critics have argued that the policies could be used to suppress free speech and promote certain ideologies, potentially limiting the range of perspectives expressed on campus.
Tepper has stated that public universities should not push political narratives on taxpayer dollars. He discovered DEI offices when his daughter was attending a university summer camp, and he learned about the messages being delivered from such offices. Tepper said he believes that publicly funded universities should remain politically neutral and that DEI offices are counterproductive to race relations, the Austin Journal has reported.