Over the past year, Americans have increasingly turned against DEI. The tipping point came when DEI proved to enable antisemitism on university campuses. This unleashed a wave of pent-up frustration over DEI’s enforcement of progressive conformity, prioritization of race over merit, culture of speech policing, and waste of resources on a giant, ideological bureaucracy.

In the face of this backlash, DEI stalwarts at the University of Michigan are not seeking to adapt their policies. Instead, they’re digging in and defending the full implementation of their ideology into every aspect of the university.
Even following the publication of a 10,000-word investigative article from the New York Times on the failure of DEI at the University of Michigan, the university’s chief diversity officer, Tabbye Chavous, doubled down in a presentation on Michigan’s “DEI 2.0” policies last month. She said, “The goal of our efforts is for diversity, equity, and inclusion to permeate all that we do on campus.”
Her deputy chief diversity officer, Katrina Wade-Golden, likewise reiterated her full-throated commitment to the cause. “At a time when some question the value of DEI, our impact speaks louder than any criticism,” Wade-Golden said. “Together, we can create an environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion are more than just aspirations. They are the very fabric of our everyday experiences.”
Chavous responded to the New York Times report in a manner that was perhaps predictable for a diversity officer. In a blustery op-ed, she claimed that the article exhibited sexism toward her. “[T]he article,” she wrote, “was rife with sexist tropes, which many in our community noted and found offensive and antithetical to the values of DEI.”
Chavous found sexism in the fact that the New York Times article, which was authored by Nicholas Confessore, referred to her “marital status.” The Times article had noted that Chavous succeeded her husband, Robert Sellers, in Michigan’s chief diversity of...