Headline, June 27 2024/ ALAS ! : ''' UNIVERSITIES & UNIVERSITIES '''

ALAS ! : 

''' UNIVERSITIES &

 UNIVERSITIES '''

! FIRST AND FOREMOST ! : THE WORLD STUDENTS SOCIETY wishes to convey its congratulations and very best wishes to H.E. Prime Minister Narandra Modi on his reelection.

'' !WOW! hopes and prays that PM Modi will bring peace and prosperity to the region, that would enable all peoples of the region and the world to get on with their lives and help build an ever growing better world. Amen! ''

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY - just recently has been advertising for a director of cell culture, fly flood, media prep and on-call glass washing facilities .

Applicants need an advanced degree and a decade of research experience, and must submit a CV, a cover letter and a research statement. They must also send in a statement on their contributions to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Seemingly everyone [ this director, the next head of preservation for the library, anyone who dreams of tenured professorship ] must file a statement outlining their understanding of diversity, their past contributions to increasing it and their plans '' for advancing equity and inclusion '' if hired.

Not long ago, such statements were epic and of marginal importance. Now they are de rigueur across most of the University of California system for hiring and tenure decisions.

Studies claim that as many as one in five faculty jobs across America require them. And government agencies that fund scientific research and starting to make grants to labs conditional upon their diversity metrics and plans.

Proponents argue that such things are needed to advance concepts normally invoked by abbreviations :  diversity, equity and inclusion [ DEI ], sometimes with ''belonging'' appendid [ DEIB ], or '' justice '' [ DEIJ ], or else rearranged in a jollier anagram [ JEDI ].

Critics - typically those with tenure rather than those seeking it - think mandatory statements constitute political litmus tests, devalue merit, open a back door for affirmative action, violate academic freedom and infringe on First Amendment protections for public universities.

'' There are a lot of similarities between these diversity statements as they're being applied now and how loyalty oaths [ which once required faculty to attest that they were not communists ] worked, says Keith Whittington, a political scientist at Princeton University. Who is right ?

Advocates see no conflict between DEI and academic excellence. '' It's hard to imagine being a good teacher if you don't know how to actively engage all students,'' says Sharon Inkelas, an associate vice provost at Berkeley.

Now it is a matter of political belief. These statements '' are descriptions of things that people have done that have enabled them to be successful in the classroom,'' says Professor Inkelas.

A referendum has already outlawed affirmative action in California, so state institutions cannot give preferential treatment on basis of race and sex. A separate law bans employers from ''controlling or directing '' the political activities of their employees.

'' There is no litmus test attached to diversity statements. All that it's asking is, 

' What are you going to be able to add to our campus? How are you going to deal with the diverse student body and faculty?'", says Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley's law school and well-known First Amendment scholar.

'' The absence of lawsuits so far, despite threats, is an indication that the diversity statements are legal. They don't violate the First Amendment.''

It is hard to know whether DEI statements merely meet their goals to stray into political filtering.  

Davidson College, in North Carolina, asked prospective computer-science staff to write about their ''potential to contribute to our commitment to equity and anti-racism'' - a cause fervently embraced by the left and despised by the right.

Berkeley has distributed guidance on how search committees ought to evaluate diversity statements.  They say that any candidate who does not discuss gender or race must be awarded low marks.  

The same goes for any earnest classical liberal who '' explicitly states the intentions to ignore the varying backgrounds of their students and treat everyone the same."

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Universities, Evolution, Students and State of Affairs continues. The World Students Society thanks The Economist.

With most respectful dedication to Social Scientists, All Great Universities of the World, and then Students, Professors and Teachers.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - for every subject, the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

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