Only 1 in 4 Students Support Legislative Efforts to Limit DEI on College Campuses
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Credit: Image Credit: Joshua Lott / The Washington Post / Getty ImagesData Summary
75% of current college students are generally in favor of efforts to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on college campuses.- A majority of college students think critical discussions of race (59%) and gender and sexuality (51%) should be incorporated into some coursework at public colleges.
- 75% of students also say they would support the critical discussion of race in a high school curriculum, such as in an Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course.
- About half of students (51%) are familiar with the ideas behind critical race theory and nearly half (45%) say they have been taught it in a college classroom.
As a growing number of states introduce legislation that aims to restrict and defund diversity initiatives at public colleges, students are sharing their own views on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campuses throughout the nation.
In a new BestColleges survey of 1,000 current undergraduate and graduate students, only about 1 in 4 students say they would support legislative efforts to limit the promotion of DEI (26%), the discussion of race or national origin (23%), and the discussion of gender or sexuality (25%) at public colleges.
Similarly, only 1 in 4 students (25%) say they would support a bill in their state of residence similar to Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which seeks to limit the discussion of race and gender in the state’s public schools.
White students are more likely than BIPOC students to say they do not support any of these legislative efforts, with BIPOC students being much more likely to be in favor of limiting these discussions at public colleges.
As surprising as it seems, this is not the first time students across these racial/ethnic groups have expressed similar sentiments. In a 2022 BestColleges survey on affirmative action, BIPOC students were slightly less likely than their white peers to say that colleges should be responsible for increasing the representation of historically excluded groups in their student bodies.
In the same 2022 survey, more BIPOC students (30%) than white students (24%) reported being negatively impacted by race-conscious college admissions.
Among students of different sexual orientations and gender identities, LGBTQIA+ students are considerably more likely than heterosexual students to say they do not support legislative efforts to limit the promotion of DEI (69% vs. 48%), the discussion of race or national origin (70% vs. 50%), or the discussion of gender or sexuality (69% vs. 45%) at public colleges.
Majority of Students Support Critical Discussions of Race in College, High School Curricula
Though Republican legislators across the U.S. have made multiple efforts to ban critical race theory from public classrooms over the last two years, most students do not agree with efforts to stifle discussions of race, national origin, sexuality, and gender.
A majority of college students think critical discussions of race (59%) and gender and sexuality (51%) should be incorporated into some coursework at public colleges.
About half of current college students (51%) say they are familiar with critical race theory, and nearly half also say they have been taught it in a college classroom (45%).
When it comes to what they believe should be taught in high school classrooms, 75% of students say they would support critical discussions of race like in the form of Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies — a course that has been at the center of controversy since its pilot introduction by The College Board in fall 2022. Less than 1 in 5 students (17%) say they would not support such a course.
Support for these discussions in high school curricula was highest among students who say they have been taught critical race theory in college (80%). However, even students who say they have not been taught critical race theory in college (72%) still support critical discussions of race for high school students.
Women are also far more likely than men to say they would support these critical discussions of race in high school (79% vs. 68%), as are LGBTQIA+ students in comparison to their heterosexual peers (88% vs. 70%).
And though BIPOC students are less likely than their white peers to express familiarity with the ideas behind critical race theory (47% vs. 54%), they are slightly more likely to support critical discussions of race in high school curriculums (77% vs. 73%).
Students Split About Whether They Would Support a Bill Similar to the Stop WOKE Act
Just over a third of students (36%) say they would not support a bill similar to Florida’s proposed Stop WOKE Act in their state of residence. Almost an equal percentage of students are neutral (39%), while just 25% say they would support that type of legislation.
Once again, BIPOC students are more likely than white students to say they would support such a bill (31% vs. 21%).
While heterosexual students are more likely than LGBTQIA+ students to say they would support a bill like this (27% vs. 20%), most heterosexual students (42%) are neutral on the matter. The majority of LGBTQIA+ students say they would not support this type of legislation (52%).
Respondents were provided the following definitions in the survey.
- Critical race theory: A framework for analyzing history and society through the lens of race. Critical race theory holds that racism is systemic and influences legal and political institutions.
- Stop WOKE Act: The Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (Stop WOKE) Act prohibits Florida schools from teaching anything that could make students feel “guilt, anguish or any form of psychological distress” because of their race, gender, sex, or national origin. Last December, a judge struck down the portion of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act impacting the state’s public colleges and universities.
Methodology
This survey was conducted from March 6-13, 2023, and was fielded by Pure Spectrum. Survey participants included 1,000 respondents nationwide who were currently enrolled in an on-campus, online, or hybrid undergraduate or graduate degree program. Respondents were 16-61 years of age, with the majority (94%) ages 16-32, and currently pursuing an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, or professional degree. The respondents for the survey were screened by various quality checks, including systems like Relevant ID, and responses were manually reviewed to ensure consistency and accuracy.