WATCH: DEI still in place as college 'finding ways' around ban, official admits: 'Proud of the fight'
The official, Drea Tinoco, assistant director for Leadership and Student Organization Development at the University of Iowa, pointed out in the undercover recording how in early spring the university's leaders began directing an end to DEI initiatives and policies.
However, as Tinoco points out, that didn't stop her or others at the school from continuing to advance the discriminatory measures.
"We're essentially finding ways to operate around [the bans], so that was our solution. We were like, 'Oh, okay, we can't use that word? Okay – "civic engagement."' I think that's a lot of what we're doing, it's like, 'Oh, okay, we're not allowed to use this word. Oh, okay. We're just going to do this,'" Tinoco can be heard saying in the video. "That's why you're not going to see DEI listed on any University of Iowa website … but there have been transitions and things that they've done, so they're not like getting rid of certain things."
The University of Iowa is just the latest school in a salvo of others that have come under fire recently over attempts to rebrand their DEI initiatives in order to skirt state or federal directives ordering them to be terminated.
Last week, Fox News Digital also obtained undercover footage showing that, despite state and federal orders aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives, school officials at Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee described a deliberate strategy to rename, repackage and quietly preserve these controversial programs under new labels like "access and engagement" and "belonging and community."
"It definitely is still here, it definitely still exists," Tinoco can be heard saying on the undercover recording. She also suggests her superiors are supportive of defying orders to dismantle DEI policies at the university, and says that when collaborating with other schools in the state, the University of Iowa staff are typically the most "combative" when it comes to standing in the way of getting rid of DEI policies.
"On behalf of my office. We are, we're still going to talk about DEI. We're still going to do all the DEI things. My assistant dean is a Black woman, and I could not imagine her being like, 'Okay guys. Yeah. We're just not going to talk about DEI anymore,'" Tinoco says on the video recording.
"I have yet to be told, like 'Dre, you can't say DEI.' And I'm still going to say it," she adds.
During the recording, Tinoco also discuses "loophole[s]" at the university to advance DEI, which she says can be done through student groups that are protected on account of freedom of association rights.
"I will say personally, like I am proud of the fight," Tinoco said of her and others' efforts to fight against state and federal anti-DEI directives.
Meanwhile, Tinoco can be heard on the recording disparaging the school's Board of Regents for being White, and calling Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed anti-DEI legislation into law back in May, "coo-coo bananas."
In response to this article, Reynolds told Fox News Digital that she would be referring the matter to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird for her review as it pertains to the state's anti-DEI laws.
"I'm appalled by the remarks made in this video by a University of Iowa employee who blatantly admits to defying DEI restrictions I signed into law on May 9, 2024," Reynolds said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "I already issued a letter to the Board of Regents on January 23, 2025, reminding university representatives to comply, not only with state law, but an executive order signed by President Trump ending implementation of DEI policies at public institutions."
The university responded by insisting it holds its faculty to the highest standards of compliance and any deviation from such compliance "is taken seriously," a spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital, indicating the school would be launching an internal investigation probing the matter.
The university added that it "will take all necessary steps to ensure university policies and procedures as well as state and federal laws are being fully upheld."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
5 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
HUD drops housing discrimination complaint related to aldermanic prerogative and Chicago zoning
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is dropping its investigation into whether or not aldermanic prerogative, which typically gives Chicago aldermen the final word on zoning decisions in their ward, resulted in housing discrimination. In a letter HUD sent Wednesday to the complaining parties, which was obtained by the Tribune, the agency said it was closing the case to instead focus on 'real concerns regarding fair housing.' 'It is the Department's policy to focus on the original understanding and enforcement of the law and therefore rightfully return such decisions on zoning, home building, and more, to local leaders who are directly responsible for those matters,' the letter says. 'HUD enforcement will continue to prioritize investigations of specific allegations of actual discrimination, rather than dictate or influence land use policy.' ProPublica reported last month HUD was planning to drop the case. What dropping the investigation means for Chicago remains unclear. Advocates hope to negotiate a deal with Mayor Brandon Johnson that will prevent aldermen from discriminating against affordable housing projects and developments. But it's unclear what action Johnson will take, given that he is preparing for a difficult reelection campaign and budget fight. Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, nor did HUD officials. A 2018 complaint filed by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law on behalf of community organizations alleged that aldermanic prerogative promotes housing discrimination by keeping racial minorities from moving into affluent white neighborhoods. After an investigation, HUD under Democratic President Joe Biden found in 2023 the allegations to be true. The agency found that Chicago had limited the building of income-restricted affordable housing in majority-white neighborhoods by giving aldermen complete veto power. It also found that Chicago had disproportionately harmed Black and Hispanic residents, perpetuated racial segregation and effectuated opposition to affordable housing 'based on racial animus.' HUD offered the parties an opportunity to work with the federal agency on informal settlement negotiations. But the Tribune reported last month that Johnson's administration delayed signing an agreement to resolve the federal complaint. A group of organizations behind the complaint met July 9 with senior mayoral aides Kennedy Bartley and Jason Lee to discuss alternative arrangements that would address the issue while leaving HUD out of the equation and forgoing any action items that would require City Council approval. But the political willpower to approve changes that would address the issue is in danger without HUD's backing. Representatives from organizations behind the complaint said last week they believed HUD will no longer pursue fair housing complaints under Republican President Donald Trump's administration. The affordable and fair housing community locally and nationally have been taking repeated hits from the Trump administration, which has sought to hinder fair housing enforcement and obstruct certain affordable housing developments. Asked last month how the complaining organizations will take on aldermanic prerogative without HUD's backing and the City Council's support, Rod Wilson, executive director of the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, said he thinks there are other routes that don't need City Council approval but declined to share specifics because of the ongoing negotiations with the mayor's team.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
GOP governor nominee pushes redistricting to oust state's lone House Dem
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., is calling on his state to join the growing fight over the country's congressional maps – with eyes on the one Democrat in his delegation. Norman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he wants the South Carolina General Assembly to redraw its district lines, which he argued is more in line with the Palmetto State's Republican majorities in the statehouse and state Senate. "We have Republican supermajorities in South Carolina. Let's use them to create more competition in our congressional seats. I have no doubt Republicans can be successful in every part of our state," Norman said. Norman, who is running for governor, said that would make South Carolina's seats in the House of Representatives "more competitive" and that it would "move our House delegation from 6-1 to 7-0." Beto O'rourke Drops F-bomb As He Urges Dems To 'Meet Fire With Fire' Against Gop Redistricting Plans In Texas "That will help increase Republican control of Congress and help President Trump pass his agenda. Every vote counts toward a conservative Speaker Mike Johnson rather than a liberal Speaker Hakeem Jeffries of New York City," Norman said. Read On The Fox News App And while he did not give further details about how he'd want that map to look, he did mention the lone Democrat, longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., by name. "Jim Clyburn is a nice man and I respect him. But he is a liberal Democrat who helped put Joe Biden in the White House," Norman said. "That's not the kind of representation South Carolina needs." Clyburn is indeed a close ally of former President Joe Biden. His support was critical to Biden winning the 2020 Democratic primary in South Carolina, a victory that was decisive in putting Biden at the front of the crowded race. He's also represented South Carolina's 6th congressional district since 1993. Schwarzenegger Pushes Back Against Newsom In Redistricting Fight The 6th congressional district was first gerrymandered to give Black South Carolinians greater representation in the early 1990s, resulting in the only majority-Black district in the state. South Carolina's congressional map has seen some partisan fighting in recent years, however. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that said a Republican-led redraw of district lines unfairly diluted Black voters' power, primarily in South Carolina's 1st congressional district, which neighbors Clyburn's. The high court's conservative majority ruled 6-3 that the district was redrawn along partisan lines, rather than racial, and therefore could be legally upheld. Redistricting is traditionally done following the U.S. census, which is taken every decade, to account for population shifts in various states. Norman's call to redraw the lines again comes after Texas Republicans' push to create a new congressional map that would give the GOP as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives. It's ignited a political firestorm across the country, with liberal states like New York and California pledging to follow suit. There are now discussions in multiple states about potentially redrawing district lines as well. Fox News Digital reached out to Clyburn's campaign for comment, as well as representatives in the South Carolina General article source: GOP governor nominee pushes redistricting to oust state's lone House Dem
Chicago Tribune
7 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Latest federal list of ‘sanctuary' jurisdictions includes Chicago, Cook County and Illinois
The Department of Justice placed Chicago, Cook County, and the state of Illinois on its latest 'sanctuary jurisdiction list,' with Attorney General Pam Bondi promising to 'continue bringing litigation' against places the department says stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement. Bondi said in a statement Tuesday that she would 'work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country,' but did not threaten any specific actions beyond what the federal government is already doing. Illinois is among a dozen states, Cook is one of four counties, and Chicago is one of 18 cities on the list. It's the latest federal target on the area following months of local ICE raids, the feds' failed lawsuit challenging local sanctuary policies, and President Donald Trump's continuing criticism of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker. Both Johnson and Pritzker have also defended the policies in hourslong testimony before Congress earlier this year. The mayor's office and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's office both said they had not received any additional communication from the DOJ about the city's and county's placement on the list. 'Chicago's Welcoming City policies were first put in place more than 40 years ago by our city's first Black mayor, Harold Washington,' Johnson spokesperson Cassio Mendoza said in an emailed statement. 'We will continue to fight for the dignity of our immigrant, migrant, and refugee communities and stand up for the rights of all Chicagoans against any federal overreach. Our city is safer when police officers can focus on driving down crime and violence and holding offenders accountable, rather than civil immigration enforcement.' Andres Correa, a spokesman for Pritzker, said in an email the DOJ's latest actions were simply a pressure tactic. 'Illinois' bipartisan TRUST Act is, and always has been, fully compliant with federal law, a fact that was affirmed in federal court just last month,' Correa said in a statement. 'Our laws ensure that law enforcement focuses on fighting crime, not enforcing the Trump administration's unlawful policies or politically motivated tactics.' A federal judge in Chicago late last month blocked the Trump administration's challenge of local sanctuary policies, such as the Trust Act, the city's sanctuary ordinance and the county statute banning ICE agents from the Cook County Jail unless they had a criminal warrant unrelated to immigration. Local jurisdictions' choice to not participate in enforcing civil immigration law is protected by the 10th Amendment, U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins wrote. Granting an end-run around that amendment 'would allow the federal government to commandeer States under the guise of intergovernmental immunity — the exact type of direct regulation of states barred by the Tenth Amendment.' The DOJ's list is the second one of its kind to be published. The first, released two months ago on DHS' website, contained hundreds of jurisdictions and was riddled with typos. It spurred pushback from officials who said it was not clear why they were included. The errors included jurisdictions that overwhelmingly voted for Trump and at least one that had declared itself a 'non-sanctuary city.' The issues were never fully explained, and, within days, the list was replaced with a 'Page Not Found' error message. The DOJ noted Louisville had been removed from the list soon after it agreed to honor DHS requests to hold inmates on immigration detainers for up to 48 hours. Given the potential loss of federal funding or increased ICE raids, the 'stakes are too high,' Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said of the move to drop its 2017 policy against such detainers, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. Bondi celebrated the change and urged other jurisdictions to do the same. .
