Wyoming Senate Votes To Defund UW Diversity Office

How much does it cost to run the University Of Wyoming?

As with any enterprise, some areas can be scaled back to save money and work more efficiently.

During this 2024 session in Cheyenne, some lawmakers have offered several amendments aimed at cutting waste at UW.

Recently the House rejected the Senate's effort to defund UW's “gender studies courses, gender studies academic programs, gender studies co-curricular programs or gender studies extra-curricular programs.”

Yet another proposal is to defund the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. That proposal also failed in the house.

Thus began a passionate debate regarding the purpose of a university education.

The questions and arguments revolve around the practicality of such a study course. What exactly does one do with such a degree in the real world?

“The world needs more cowboys,” argued Sen. Bo Biteman (R-Ranchester). “The world does not need more social justice warriors.”

Sen. Tara Nethercott (R-Cheyenne) warned of setting “a dangerous precedent.”

“When you don’t like an idea or a concept and you the government — the all-powerful centralized government — chooses to stop that speech, to stop the sharing of those ideas, even those you disagree with so profoundly, that are contrary to your morals and your values, that is against freedom.”

Opponents of the amendment explained that the office supports a variety of students who are adjusting to life at the university. Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) noted as an example the challenges that first-generation students face when going to UW and the resources the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides for such students. (Wyofile).

The argument is then made that UW and other universities existed for a long time, just fine, without such offices.

State Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, pointed to his alma mater Harvard University, which he said has gone in a negative direction because of programs like this.

“This kind of program was the principal agent of introducing that rot, introducing a faculty that is without diversity of opinion, that is a monolith of wokeness,” he said. “We’re seeing this rot affect the University of Wyoming.” (Cowboy State Daily).

The argument is not over, yet. Bills that live in the Senate but die in the House will be looked at again when the two houses reconcile near the end of the session.