In the antebellum South (the “good ol’ days” to Republikkkans) if a slave displayed the proper amount of fealty to the “Massah,” he might be promoted from a field hand to the “big house.”
That’s what appears to have occurred on the LSU campus as university President William Tate quietly remained in his place as the historically political LSU Board of Supervisors bent to the will of Gov. Jeff Landry by voting to further erode student diversity.
With the exception of Jimmie Woods, all Black members of the board also took a powder and didn’t hang around for the vote on the resolution, which passed without objection – not even from Woods.
But wait. Woods is chairman so he kinda had to stick around until the meeting adjourned and he probably likes being chairman, so let’s not be to too generous in giving him a pass.
The board voted, sort of quasi-unanimously given the three conspicuous absences, to ABOLISH all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at the university, a move that, coupled with looming budget cuts across the higher education board, is likely to have the dual-effect of seeing yet another exodus of professors and instructors while making the dream of college even more elusive for marginalized students.
But then, hell, that’s what the Republikkkans have been striving for all along – ever since one Ronald Reagan while governor of California said the state could no longer afford “intellectual luxuries” and that taxpayers should not have to subsidize “intellectual curiosity.” Later, as president, he expressed doubt as to whether students should be permitted, or are even qualified, to choose what they study. One of Reagan’s reasons for increasing tuition to attend college was to “get rid of undesirables.” One of his advisors while governor and later as president, Stanford economics professor Roer Freeman, went even further when he said, “We have to be selective on who we allow to go through [higher education].”
It’s a concept that obviously resonated with Republikkkans who, increasingly, have been encroaching on academic freedom (and access) in higher education. Make no mistake, it’s an insidious campaign to turn education into something available only to elitists.
So, now LSU has awarded Tate with a $750,000 salary with the possibility of picking up an additional $650,000 in incentives. Apparently one of those incentives is keeping his mouth shut as academic freedoms at the university are further eroded.
And as for Collis Temple, James Williams and Valencia Sarpy Jones, the three Black members (other than Woods), the perks that go with board membership apparently are enough for them to leave the room when the vote on the resolution came up for what turned out to be a quick non-discussion vote.
So, bottom line is LSU is fast becoming the sequel to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It’s that, or the three members were so ill-informed that they were the only ones not sufficiently versed on the content of the resolution before it was voted on. Either way, there’s no excuse for their failure to stand up for the principles of diversity and inclusion.
Just so you know it’s not just control of LSU, Landry, given authority to appoint the heads of all boards and commissions, promptly named Misti Cordell as chairperson of the Louisiana Board of Regents, the governing board of higher education that sets policy for the state’s four public higher education systems. Cordell was appointed despite her lack of qualifications in administering higher education. Her background is as a physician recruiter for Affinity Health Group. But that matters little for a governor determined to push through his agenda.
But back to LSU. By their silence, the Black board members in effect condone a return to the Jim Crow days of separate drinking fountains and back of the bus seating.
Except for football and basketball, of course. On the playing field and on the court, diversity and inclusion means equity (hopefully superiority) and glory for the Ole War Skule. The ability to compete in those areas is far more important that the ability to remain competitive in the classroom or in research.
But hey! Let’s wish William Tate well as he toils away in the “Big House.”
Louisiana Voice 
Some state. Just pitiful.
In what is apparently part of the MAGA movement, Republicans are now more open about the policies Reagan suggested, i. e., that college has little value. A college education in my day had exactly the value Reagan says is unnecessary – nourishment of intellectual curiosity. In the years since then education has become much less rounded with many of the courses that were mandatory in my day now electives. Even 25 years ago that was true. I hired a guy late in my career with 2 degrees from LSU who could literally not speak or write English at any level of competence. College has become like a trade school with the focus strictly on the student’s major. There are still liberal arts degrees but they have little to no value in the job marketplace.
From the time I first attended college power politics has always dominated advancement through the academic ranks. Now, it seems to have reached the point where it is all that matters.
I used to not consider seriously the possibility a significant part of the conservative power agenda was to promote and preserve the elite and keep the rest of our citizens as dumb as possible because it is much easier to control and dominate uneducated (and the undereducated for whom Mr. Trump has professed love). The sheep actually prefer being told what to think because critical thinking is much, much harder. Also, if you are just taking orders you can simply place accountability on whoever is giving the orders and accept none personally.
I hope some people are paying attention to what is happening in higher education as well as elementary and secondary education because our survival literally depends on it.
Reading the column linked below adds to my inclination to believe the one conspiracy theory noted in my original post, i. e., that the Republican party endorses keeping us as poorly educated as possible. I have not been to LaSalle parish in many years, but I used to travel there regularly and it was the most depressing place I had to visit for my job. It is easy to see how the people there ultimately became frustrated with the Democratic party since they seemed to get little help from its policies. I also used to travel to Acadiana regularly in the late 1960s. I found it refreshingly liberal – now it is the reverse and I don’t understand why. Anyhow, read this article. It answered a lot of questions for me:
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/louisiana-isnt-one-of-the-7-battleground-states-this-year/article_a539abe8-1643-5983-9a5d-e920a0fb3a69.html#tncms-source=featured-2
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing!
Attempting to make a point about vile racism and racists while simultaneously calling a black man a “house _” is just another reason why even our “allies” are never really on the same page with us, Tom. I don’t read this as conveying the message I think you wanted to make. Just my personal take.
“DEI” is the modern right’s “n” word on steroids. It expresses their racism the same way using the “n” word expresses their racism. Only they can’t use the “n” word in public. Private yes. Public no. Too blatant. But “DEI” in all its forms, including the “woke” agenda (whatever that is), CAN be used publicly with all the spite they can express without being called out for their overt racism. But its more than that. It also expresses their pre-suffrage misogyny and their smug exceptionalism. White males – particularly white conservative American males – are the only people NOT lumped into DEI because it is they who are the “victims” of DEI. You can expect this to remain a big “issue” on the right, too. Once you experience the ecstasy of wallowing in your prejudices nothing else compares.