Be Prepared To DIE - Diversity, Inclusion, Equity - The Slogan Is a University Demand, Almost Everywhere

 

St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.

I first saw the three words together as a slogan, and higher education is full of those tidy packages of current thought. 

This is a Spectator.org essay from the leader of the political science department at St. Vincent Collegte in Latrobe, PA. I never heard of the college either, but the description is similar to what happened at the LCMS college in Mequon, Wisconsin, a campus formerly Roman Catholic and offered at first to WELS, so I heard. 

In an essay that was published on Feb. 14 in the Christian News Missouri, Dr. Gregory Schulz wrote the search criteria for a new university president include someone who exhibits a "demonstrated belief in and commitment to equity and inclusion and who promotes racialized diversity in all its myriad forms."

I paid little attention to the slogan because the cause appeared won some time ago. I attended an elementary school, Garfield (now a condo) in Moline, Illinois. The school was diverse because its neighborhood was, from welfare housing to a large Black section to the more affluent who worked for the farm equipment companies, namely John Deere.

In the last few years, the three-word combination has been used to baptize a new department (and staff) in as many schools of higher education as possible. 

Augustana College in Rock Island has its own DIE office and the new president was already in charge of the same thing at a previous school - so qualified! The Augustana DIE page has a calendar, a DIE VP and student staff, reporting standards! and everything except theme cookies for sale. Say goodbye to original research and hello to Woke.

Trustees of Augustana

Denise Garrett, associate general counsel, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bettendorf, Iowa.

Dr. Ann Die Hasselmo, higher education consultant in executive search, Academic Search, Inc., Seabrook, Texas.

Doug Hultquist, co-founder (retired), QCR Holdings, Moline, Ill.

Christina Garrett Klein, pastor, Edgebrook Lutheran Church, Chicago.

Peter Simshauser, chief legal officer, Motional AD Inc., Boston.

A Flood of Memories

The Moline High School students did so much sand bagging against the 1965 Mississippi Flood that the city dedicated a plaque to us. The 1966 class willingly left their studies to fill and haul sandbags.

 

Believe it or not, I subscribed to the San Francisco Chronicle, even though we visited there only once. Now I am reading about how the city and the state are dealing with one violent storm after another. That was predicted, but weather predictions in Northwest Arkansas seldom pan out, perhaps due to our geography, the Ozarks pushing storms north or east of us.

Christina and I saw floods in Midland (Michigan), St. Louis and New Ulm, never threatening our Icha-bodes but impressive when so near. We thought Erin Joy would be frightened by flooding around the Midland hospital and inside. She was lit up by all the excitement, which made us laugh. She saw entertainment while everyone else was afraid of even more danger.

In early January, I am getting warnings from the gardening vendors I support. One just wrote that I better order some flowers or it would be too late! We are in the true South but not the Equator, as in Ecuador! I recall getting bare root roses in Springdale just as we entered a two-week sample of zero temperatures. I had to soak them in the kitchen in a large garbage pail (aka rain barrel). 

 

Disasters are marks in time, easy to remember the time and place. Moline built a monument for us high school students who sandbagged the 1965 flood. I helped guard and sandbag Melo Cream, but we did not merit a monument. There is a big difference between flood and food. Or I could say, between Do Not Enter! and Donuts - Enter! Yes, I helped keep the donut shop high and dry.

I was talking to a reader yesterday about current conditions in our country. We agreed that the best we could do is find peace in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and help our neighbors who are suffering from economic distress - costs way out of control. 

Roses always make people happy!