In a bizarre twist on higher education (as in: what are they smokin’?), the University of Arizona has taken the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to a whole new level – by empathizing with insects. Yes, you read that right. Students are now encouraged to put themselves in the tiny shoes of bugs to better understand these “marginalized” groups.
Bugs and bias: the new curriculum.
According to a report by Timothy Minella from the Goldwater Institute, an entomology course at the university now requires students to “reflect in personal writing assignments on the assumptions that inform popular attitudes towards insects, identifying ways that attitudes of othering interference with self-identity and foster systems of privilege or oppression/marginalization.”
WTF? Does the butterfly on your tree branch have a preferred pronoun? Does the grasshopper in your understand systemic racism? Probably not, but thy might want to get themselves an attorney anyway.
DEI: The catch-all for absurdity.
Picture this: shelling out $140,000 in tuition for your child to spend a semester pondering the plight of bugs. Sadly, more than two-thirds of colleges in America actually force students to take a course on DEI as part of their “general education” requirements in order to graduate. These captive audiences have to learn about leftist BS crap instead of things like American history. Who needs something so insignificant as American history after all?
The entomology course isn’t an isolated case at the university, Minella reports, highlighting other courses like the one that offers extra credit for attending “ally training” at the campus LGBTQ+ center where students are encouraged to become activists for LBGTQ+ causes and taught that sexes aren’t binary (i.e. only two genders).
These courses also encourage students to apologize profusely if accused of saying something “problematic.”
Warped perspectives in science.
By 2026, University of Arizona students must take at least two DEI-focused courses to graduate, thanks to a revised core curriculum. Yes, they HAVE to.
This approach warps even the science courses, compelling students to view everything through a DEI lens. Meanwhile, essential subjects like American history, government, and the U.S. Constitution are conspicuously absent from the required coursework, defying a mandate by the Arizona Board of Regents.
The bottom line.
Requiring students to embrace DEI in every aspect of their education, even the study of insect, distorts academic honesty. Equating human social issues with the lives of insects is a step too far. As we navigate this ever-more bizarre academic landscape, one can’t help but wonder: What’s next? Sensitivity training for amoebas?
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