Arizona State professor sues university over DEI training, says he was asked to 'decolonize' his classroom
An Arizona State University professor spoke out about his lawsuit targeting the university over its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training, alleging it used "public money" to advance racist ideas.
Dr. Owen Anderson, who has taught philosophy, religious studies and theology at the university for more than 20 years, joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss why he decided to file suit alongside The Goldwater Institute, a conservative nonprofit organization.
"This is the first time I had required DEI training, and what was objectionable about this specific training is that it divides people up based on race, and then it assigns blame based on skin color," Anderson told Lawrence Jones and Ainsley Earhardt on Friday.
"That's the essence of racism. And so we have a state law in Arizona that prohibits state agencies from using public money to teach race blame, or any kind of racial judgment."
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The lawsuit claims the mandatory training violates a two-year-old state law that forbids public agencies from requiring employees to engage in training that presents any form of "blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex."
It also alleges the training discriminates by "compelling the speech of public employees by requiring faculty and staff to take an examination following a training that presents forms of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex, and answer with Arizona State University’s ‘correct’ answers, in violation of the Arizona Constitution."
"The Goldwater Institute suit misled the court and misrepresents both the content and requirements of this training to make an argument that represents a political perspective but is not based on the law," an ASU spokesperson told "Fox & Friends" on Thursday. "ASU's commitment to providing a supportive and welcoming educational environment for students of all backgrounds will continue and the university will respond appropriately to the Institute's test tactics."
But Anderson pushed back on ASU's statement, arguing many critics are "stunned" by what the university requires as "mandatory" training.
"What the Goldwater Institute did was they provided 173 pages, which is just the content of these teaching modules and the quizzes, so that people can see for themselves and the court will be able to see," Anderson said in response. "Whenever I bring up the content and show it publicly, this is what's being taught, people are stunned and they say, 'Well, I can't believe that's what's being taught in these employee training classes.'"
The training, titled "ASU Inclusive Communities," teaches faculty and staff that "White supremacy [is] normalized in society," "Sexual identities are linked to power, and heterosexuality, the dominant sexual identity in American culture, is privileged by going largely unquestioned," and "seemingly innocuous questions and comments" like asking people where they’re from or commenting on their hair, can be deemed "racist," according to the complaint.
The course also discuses how to "critique whiteness" and other topics like "White privilege"; "White fragility"; and the need for "transformative justice."
Following the training, faculty are reportedly required to take a test and if they fail to provide what ASU deems to be the "right" answer, they’ll be reported to their supervising dean.
Anderson said this is not the first time he has sparred with the university over its far-left ideology. He said a few years ago he was asked to "decolonize" his classroom and his syllabus, which he opposed.
He also noted that many other faculty members stand in solidarity with him on the issue, but are understandably "afraid to speak up."
"I've been contacted by others who say thank you for speaking up, but people feel what is called the chilling effect, which means they know that if they speak up at work and the majority of people are far leftists, that they're going to have pushback, and they're going to maybe face employment problems," Anderson said.
Fox News' Kendall Tietz and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.