Bryan Caplan, professor of economics in George Mason University’s excellent economics department, has a long article out today with the James Martin Center about the attempt to impose a mandatory “Just Societies” course for all students at George Mason starting next fall, and the course is a total ideological DEI wokefest. He also has a separate Substack article that goes into lengthy detail.

Partly because Caplan blew the whistle on this Orwellian outrage, the course requirement is on hold for the moment, pending “review” by the administration. One passage from his Martin Center article deserves special highlight:

This is quixotic, I know, but let me try to break through the woke academic echo chamber with some harsh truths. If you promote DEI for a living, the reality is that normal, apolitical people see you as a racist, sexist, censorious fanatic. They don’t say so publicly … because they are afraid of you. They don’t tell you privately … because they are afraid of you. But when they’re speaking to people they trust, they vehemently disagree with you—and yearn to see you all fired.

Well, it appears that the University of Florida has figured this out. Today the University (where Ben Sasse is now president) summarily closed down the entire DEI apparatus, and is summarily dismissing, rather than “reassigning” DEI staff to other offices. It has also canceled all outside contracts for DEI consultants. It will save $5 million right away, which Sasse says will be diverted to new faculty recruitment.

Here’s the note that went out:

More of this please. Burn them all down.

Related: Harvard announced today that it is appointing . . . a white male as interim provost. I didn’t think that was allowed any more at Harvard. But not just a white male, but a somewhat conservative white male—John Manning of Harvard Law School. (Manning clerked for both Robert Bork on the DC Circuit and Nino Scalia at the Supreme Court. How he snuck onto Harvard Law’s faculty is something to ponder.

Harvard must really be badly rattled if it is willing to violate current progressive dogma and appoint a white male to such a senior position.