Straws in the Wind - Part 154

From the Williams Record: The [Williams College] faculty approved a series of motions to remove language from the faculty handbook about the use of race in College’s decision-making on hiring and admissions at the Oct. 7 faculty meeting. At last month’s meeting, the faculty declined to pass the amendments and deferred them to this month for more substantive deliberation. The revisions are part of a broader effort to ensure the College’s compliance with current federal laws and policies in order to recertify as a recipient of new federal research funding, President Maud S. Mandel told the Record in September. The recertification process was halted in May because of new federal guidelines targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Seven motions pertaining to the handbook, which outlines College governance and faculty employment, were approved at the meeting. Two of them removed references to affirmative action and rewrote the relevant section to focus on “non-discrimination.” Another motion struck language that oriented the Bolin Fellowship toward underrepresented groups, and another removed racial provisions from the description of the faculty hiring process. The other three motions contained minor updates or were unrelated to DEI. Discussion at the meeting was muted and the changes were widely approved. The motion about the Bolin Fellowship, which passed by the narrowest margin, passed in an 81-15 vote with seven abstentions... 

Full story at https://williamsrecord.com/470677/news/faculty-votes-to-alter-handbook-remove-dei-references/.

From the Daily Bruin: A national free speech advocacy group alleged that segments of the UC’s online anti-harassment training restrict students’ speech. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said it is concerned about a part of the mandatory training that says deadnaming – intentionally calling a transgender person by the name they used prior to their transition, as opposed to their lived name – “‘may’ be considered a form of sexual harassment,” in an Oct. 31 post on X. The group called for the UC to “clarify that dead-naming or using the wrong pronouns can only be punished if they are a part of a larger pattern of harassment,” in a threaded reply on X.

Students across the UC system are required to take the Sexual Violence and Harassment, Anti-Discrimination, Prevention and Education training annually. Students who do not complete the training can see their accounts placed on hold, which prevents them from enrolling in classes or accessing recreational campus facilities. UCLA Media Relations referred the Daily Bruin to the UC Office of the President for comment. Rachel Zaentz, a UCOP spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that the UC created the SHAPE training to comply with California requirements...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2025/11/03/free-speech-group-alleges-shape-training-restricts-uc-students-speech.