white fragility: Boise University suspends mandatory diversity course

Boise State University officials say their suspension of diversity classes this week was motivated only by reports of an unspecified incident, but the action comes amid a pointed attack by Republican state lawmakers on the university's efforts to educate students about racism.

The university on Tuesday abruptly suspended 52 sections of a diversity and ethics course, citing concerns that "a student or students" were made to feel "humiliated and degraded" in class "for their beliefs and values". No official report has been filed, and officials said they have only heard about the incidents second- and third-hand, but the university is investigating.

The suspension of UF 200: Foundations of Ethics and Diversity, which Boise State leaders acknowledged was an extreme step, affects 36 faculty members and 1,300 students. Students will still receive credit for the course and will complete their work, but the university is still figuring out how.

Republican legislators in Idaho have in recent years been ratcheting up the pressure on colleges, saying they are indoctrinating students with a leftist agenda. The lawmakers take issue with the institutions' efforts to be more inclusive. The course suspensions at Boise State came the same week that the Idaho State Senate passed a higher-education budget that cut $409,000 from Boise State's appropriation — the amount the university said it spent on social-justice programs — and shifted the money to Lewis-Clark State College, the Idaho Statesman reported on Wednesday. Some Republican lawmakers had wanted to cut much more in order to send a clear signal to the university that they were against its efforts to educate students about racism and social justice.

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white fragility: Boise University suspends mandatory diversity course

Of course some students felt "humiliated and degraded", that's the whole point!