The Dark Side of DEI

Cambridge University this week was desperately trying to dig itself out from a DEI hole of its own irrepressible making. Instead of acknowledging the cynical deceit of leveraging race to achieve the slap-happy veneer of social justice, it downplayed what it had allowed to occur on its campus by accusing white whistleblowers of racial bias.

And it resulted in the suicide of one of its former “superstar” Black faculty members, who the university abandoned once he had become a public relations liability.

In the desperate and frantic race to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion, the more extreme the origin story, the more compelling the candidate. Cambridge hit the DEI jackpot with Jason Arday. His parents were immigrants to the United Kingdom. Diagnosed with autism as a child, he was mute until he reached the age of 11, and only learned the English language at 18. He survived a brain tumor and other maladies.

Nonetheless, after receiving his Ph.D. in sociology, the story got much better. He claimed to have played semipro soccer and run 30 marathons in 35 days—on a broken leg! He raised $5 million for charity. Cambridge was an 800-year-old institution dominated by white male academics for its entire history. To remedy this racial imbalance, Arday was appointed as its youngest ever Black professor.

A memoir detailing his miraculous adventures in resilience and resourcefulness was published earlier this month. It came with a hefty advance. This coincided with renewed allegations that he plagiarized his dissertation. Cambridge failed to investigate. He was promoted for a reason, and the university was sticking to its story.

But then Arday’s life beyond the academy—his fantastical life story—turned out to be just that: wholly imagined, except for the part about him being a child of immigrants and a person of color. He formally resigned. Cambridge kept quiet, but social media—and bitter white academics with axes to grind—knew of no such discretion. Arday took his own life, apparently, to stop the humiliation.

It’s a tragedy, yes, but not an unforeseen one. The problem with the new college math found in critical race theory is that it confers virtue in color and assumes depravity in anything white. Virtue comes with an automatic equity entitlement, too—a guaranteed spin at the wheel of privileged professions. That’s how someone with a nonexistent résumé and mediocre skills, such as Arday, can be catapulted to great but undeserving heights.

The problem with the new college math found in critical race theory is that it confers virtue in color and assumes depravity in anything white. Virtue comes with an automatic equity entitlement, too—a guaranteed spin at the wheel of privileged professions.

This sad affair can be replayed at any number of universities or institutions where hiring decisions have depended on identity rather than merit, where skin color overrode qualifications. Harvard’s first Black female president resigned when facts came to light that parts of her dissertation had been plagiarized.

These are the consequences of living among lies. We have empowered the politics of identity to dispense with all manner of expertise. Offended minorities and the transgender can end careers and ruin lives. All they have to do is raise their hand, and punishment will be forthcoming to anyone who dissents from intersectional orthodoxies.

Pro basketball star and media sensation Sophie Cunningham’s crusade on behalf of women in sports is receiving backlash, from of all places, the Women’s National Basketball Association! The trans community have turned Title IX into a league of their own.

What kind of a society can possibly survive this ceaseless variety of intimidation, self-hatred, self-censorship and brainwashing?

Arday’s ruin should be an object lesson. But instead of conceding that DEI is a death sentence and woke simply won’t work, many universities, emboldened by the recent successes of Democratic Socialists, are actually doubling down, envisioning new DEI programs to die for.

Many universities, emboldened by the recent successes of Democratic Socialists, are actually doubling down, envisioning new DEI programs to die for.

Oregon State University just released new DEI hiring requirements that take into account “social justice principles and concepts,” and mandatory DEI‑themed coursework for undergraduates as part of its core curriculum. Two of those courses: “Antiracism” and “Disney: Gender, Race, Empire.”

At the University of California system, Berkeley has increased DEI factors in faculty hiring and added a mandatory student orientation course, “Belonging & Justice.” At Santa Cruz, there is a new DEI competency requirement for graduate teaching assistants. At Davis, all undergraduate peer mentors will receive more DEI training.

The University of Michigan has new DEI learning modules for incoming students. Faculty annual reviews now include more DEI criteria. New instructors must obtain mandatory “Inclusive Teaching” certification.

At Brown University, DEI requirements are now tied to its “Equity & Access Initiative”; all graduate students must receive anti‑bias training; and there are expanded DEI course options for undergraduates.

First-year students at the University of Vermont must sit through “Identity & Power”; there are now DEI expectations for student organizations; and more DEI training for faculty.

There is a race to the bottom in Western academia. Universities are ignoring the warning signs, despite the broader culture’s rejection that race should matter more than merit. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court ended affirmative action in college admissions, and the Trump administration is making quick haste of DEI programs and policies.

No matter. When it comes to DEI, Western institutions seemingly have no impulse control. They are locked into the fallacious groupthink that racism, alone, is responsible for holding back a person of color: not genetic inheritance, work ethic, two-parent households, motivated peer groups, and self-discipline.

Just racism.

Question this framework, and you’ll be deemed a racist. Make no mistake: playing the race card works quite well. Even a terrible hand will flush a royal flush down the drain. Call attention to some failing, no matter how egregious —  like plagiarism or a burst life story — and suffer the indignity of being labeled an irredeemable bigot.

We see the same dynamic with Islam. Terrorism can’t ever be linked to Islam, lest one live with an Islamophobia rap. But 67,000 terrorist attacks have been committed by Islamists since 9/11, resulting in the death of 250,000. The West has very good cause to harbor a phobia over Islam.

These things must be discussed. Cambridge covered it up, watched its rock star professor resign in disgrace, even though its own negligence made his downfall inevitable.

It’s racist to hand someone a job based on skin color alone. They will be doomed to fail because representing one’s identity is not the same thing as mastering a profession. No one has the right to have a turn as a brain surgeon, a bridge builder or even a college professor. Such appointments may alleviate white guilt, but as we came to learn last week, they can also lead to delusions that might take a life.

Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, essayist, law professor and Distinguished University Professor at Touro University, where he directs the Forum on Life, Culture & Society. He is a contributing writer for White Rose magazine. His most recent book is titled, “Beyond Proportionality: Israel’s Just War in Gaza.”