The University of Utah LGBT Student Center Is Closing as Anti-DEI Law Goes Into Effect
PETER PARKS/Getty Images
The LGBT Resource Center at the University of Utah will close by the end of the month, according to a post on the center’s Instagram.
“Let’s come together to honor the center’s legacy of support, advocacy, and resilience, as well as to honor the 21 years of commitment that went into to creating a safe environment where everyone is valued, not despite of their identities, but because of them,” the post said, prompting an outpouring of support and sorrow.
“This is so fucked up,” one commenter wrote. “Im starting school in the fall and am so upset this won’t be a resource for our community.”
The LGBT Center is one of multiple campus centers that will be closing in response to the passage of HB261, according to the university’s paper The Daily Utah Chronicle. The bill, which disallows public schools from engaging in diversity and inclusion initiatives, was a Republican-led initiative that passed in January and was swiftly signed by the state’s governor.
According to reporting from the Salt Lake Tribune after the bill passed, the law bans government-funded institutions from engaging in "‘differential treatment’ or preference based on race or gender,” noting that any offices in institutions of higher education doing DEI work would need to change to a generalized “student success and support” model.
The Utah Board of Education member posted a photo of a girls’ basketball team with a caption implying one of the athletes is trans.
Campus resource centers for other marginalized groups — the Black Cultural Center, American Indian Resource Center, Dream Center (which works with undocumented students), and Center for Equity and Student Belonging (which works with students from underrepresented backgrounds) — have also closed, according to the Chronicle. Staff members from the now-shuttered centers will be housed under Student Affairs.
The Chronicle reports that although the university has not confirmed that the closure is related to the enactment of HB 261, the U of U’s guidance for adhering to the new law states that they are prohibited from using the full term “diversity, equality, and inclusion,” and that the university should avoid the terms “diversity, “equity” or “inclusion” in any policies and prohibits sponsorship of any programs using them.
As of earlier this month, lawmakers in 30 states have introduced over 100 anti-DEI bills, according to Forbes. Many of the bills are copy-and-pastes of one another and written by special interest groups, a growing problem in state-level legislation.
“Rarely are these state laws original,” politician Wendy Davis told Forbes. “Some conservative organizations create templated legislation that red states can pass on issues ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to anti-DEI education bills. This has proven to be an effective strategy as recent national abortion rights and affirmative-action rulings have punted legislation back to states.”
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
Originally Appeared on them.
More Stories from Them on Anti-Trans Legislation
For LGBTQ+ Rights, 2023 Was a Year of Fighting. Here’s What We Won
5 Trans Students Explain How They’re Coping With Harassment, Protests, and More at School
2022 Was the Worst Year Ever for Anti-Trans Bills. How Did We Get Here?
Trans Adults Are the Next Target in the GOP’s War on Gender-Affirming Health Care
7 Trans Students on the Fear, Humiliation, and Loneliness of Life Under Bathroom Bans
The Florida House Passed Three Extreme Anti-Trans Bills in a Single Day
