Minority student organizations at LSU have been asked to change their advertising to indicate that their clubs are “open to all” to avoid being discriminatory as part of ongoing DEI compliance.
LSU has made many recent changes in compliance with a federal “dear colleague” letter sent on Feb. 14 requiring schools to eliminate DEI programs. The university has undergone sweeping revisions to its websites and suspended identity-based criteria for financial aid and scholarships.
However, in a comprehensive report of LSU’s DEI changes sent to the Board of Supervisors, the university said that the federal directive doesn’t extend to student organizations.
“Student organizations were deemed to be associations of students, so they were not touched,” LSU said in the report, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
Going forward, however, student fees that go toward student organizations can’t be used for DEI initiatives, the report said.
The other new rule for student organizations, according to an LSU spokesperson, is that they must be open to everyone. Several student leaders who spoke to the Reveille and the report itself said that student organizations have had to make changes in compliance.
READ MORE: Full details of LSU’s DEI compliance sent to Board of Supervisors
According to student leaders, student organizations have been instructed to remove DEI-related language from their websites and social media and state that membership is open to all.
Sharonda Angelle, the president of the LSU Society of Women Engineers, said the changes go against the purpose of these student organizations to provide a safe space for minority groups on campus.
“I don’t think our clubs are safe, and to be safe we must mask our core values,” Angelle said. “Student orgs shouldn’t be attacked when all we do is service the LSU community.”
Other student leaders share that sentiment.
“I am extremely disappointed that this is required to happen,” said Ashley Zoltowksi, the president of LSU Veterinarians as One Inclusive Community for Empowerment.
Zoltowski said she’s unsure what else may be asked of student organizations but is “working with [her] fellow students and administration on the best way to move forward.”
LSU’s comprehensive DEI report to the Board of Supervisors also included student organizations that had to revise their membership eligibility, such as the LSU Black Student Athlete Association and LSU Women in Business.
Two student organizations that were previously a part of the Office of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX, the Black Male Leadership Initiative and the Black Women’s Empowerment Initiative, were transitioned to being registered student organizations that operate independently, the report said.
Some student organizations said they weren’t affected by the DEI changes, including Spectrum, an LGBTQ+ organization. President Inari Owens said their organization received no official directive, but there have been internal talks about taking “buzzwords like LGBTQ+ or queer out of advertising so as to not unnecessarily draw attention.”
The report also listed minority student organizations that weren’t instructed to make changes because they were already in compliance. Manship School of Mass Communication Dean Kim Bissell told the Reveille that Manship didn’t ask any student organizations, such as the National Society of Black Journalists, to make changes because nothing on their websites indicated that they weren’t open to all.
There’s no indication that minority student organizations are at risk of disbandment. Several student organizations also said their funding wasn’t at risk because it came from outside sources like national organizations or fundraisers.
Are you a leader or member of a minority student organization that was affected by LSU’s DEI changes? We’d like to hear your experience.
