We previously discussed the lawsuit of Dr. Zack K. De Piero against Penn State over an alleged hostile work environment and racial discrimination linked to antiracism training and material. Judge Wendy Beetlestone just denied a critical motion to dismiss in De Piero v. Penn State with strong language concerning DEI programs.
De Piero brought his case under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. As previously discussed, there were roughly 40 defendant trustees, professors, and administrators named in the complaint below. This includes Professor Liliana Naydan who was an Associate Professor of English and served as De Piero’s Supervisor and Chair of the English Department and Writing Program Coordinator.
De Piero alleges that he was “individually singled out for ridicule and humiliation” due to his race. He also alleges that he was expected to follow and support the view that “White supremacy exists in the language itself, and therefore, that the English language itself is ‘racist.”
De Piero also alleges that faculty were encouraged to participate in anti-racist workshops and trainings, including one titled “White Teachers are the Problem.”
What is most interesting about the complaint is that it alleges policies that would violate core academic freedom principles from the content of his classes to grading. He alleges that he was told to adopt a race-based grading system. Specifically, he alleges that the failure to grade minorities on par or better than whites would be treated as de facto racist:
“Defendants instructed De Piero that outcomes alone — regardless of the legitimacy of methods of evaluation, mastery of subject matter, or intentions — demonstrate whether a faculty member’s actions are racist or not. Defendants call this “social justice” and “antiracism.” At the core of their ideology, Defendants discriminate twofold on the basis of race. First, Defendants’ bigotry manifests itself in low expectations. They do not expect black or Hispanic students to achieve the same mastery of academic subject matters as other students and therefore insist that deficient performance must be excused. Accurate assessment of abilities, if it happens to show disparate performance among different racial groups, is therefore condemned as “racist.” econd[sic], Defendants’ bigotry manifests itself in overt discrimination against students and faculty who do apply consistent standards, especially white faculty.”
In her denial of Penn State’s motion in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Judge Bettlestone explored the record, including how the DEI Director emailed all employees ‘calling on white people’ to ‘feel terrible’ about their ‘own internalized white supremacy’ and to ‘hold other white people accountable.’” She also noted that the Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Equity “‘led the faculty’ in a breathing exercise in which she instructed the ‘White and non-Black people of color to hold it just a little longer—to feel the pain.’”
The court also recounted how
Defendant Carmen Borges, Associate Director of the AAO, asked to meet with De Piero to discuss his bias report. At that meeting, she responded to De Piero’s concern that he had been made to feel “humiliated, disgraced, harassed, and discriminated against,” by telling him that “[t]here is a problem with the white race” and he should “broaden [his] perspective.” “Until you get it,” she told De Piero, he should continue to attend anti-racism workshops. By November 2021, Borges had resolved De Piero’s initial complaint and had decided that no further action would be taken. She concluded that the “White Teachers are a Problem” training, “while it may be offensive to [him], does not constitute discrimination towards you as an individual and does not rise to a violation of the University’s Non-Discrimination policy.”
In a balanced opinion, Judge Bettlestone stated
“Training on concepts such as ‘white privilege’, “white fragility’, implicit bias, or critical race theory can contribute positively to nuanced, important conversations about how to form a healthy and inclusive working environment [. . . ] But the way these conversations are carried out in the workplace matters: When employers talk about race—any race, [. . .] —with a constant drumbeat of essentialist, deterministic, and negative language, they risk liability under federal law.”
These lawsuits are mounting against universities, which continue to burn through funds to defend these controversial statements. In other cases, we have seen officials immediately remove statements when they become public. For example, at Johns Hopkins Hospital chief diversity officer Sherita Golden issued an apology after an outcry over her “privilege” list from the Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity program.
The newsletter stated
“Privilege is an unearned benefit given to people who are in a specific social group. Privilege operates on personal, interpersonal, cultural and institutional levels, and it provides advantages and favors to members of dominant groups at the expense of members of other groups…
In the United States, privilege is granted to people who have membership in one or more of these social identity groups: White people, able-bodied people, heterosexuals, cisgender people, males, Christians, middle or owning class people, middle-aged people, and English-speaking people.”
As is sometimes the case, when exposed publicly, officials will often disavow their own program material or statements. This was in a newsletter that the office obviously reviewed, edited, and released. Now, however, Golden insists that it does not capture the views of the office and expressed “deep regret.”
In the case of Penn State, the school appears set on trying a case that will only increase the costs and negative coverage for the school. It is often the case that administrators lack the courage to challenge DEI programs or material. The alternative of spending potentially millions on litigation and damages can be viewed as rational rather than risking personal backlash for reversing course.
why do whites bend over backwards at their own expense for minorities when in the minority’s own countries they maim and murder whites ???
Because some whites suffer from indoctrinated guilt!
What’s it called when racism is used to fix or correct racism? Oh yea . . . racism!
This is a veritable GOLD MINE for the smartest white students who get their ducks lined up in a row and find a willing and able law firm to represent them.
Says the race huckster: “’White Teachers are a Problem’ . . . does not constitute discrimination towards you as an individual . . .”
Note the collectivist premise here (which animates DEI): It’s okay to treat you as a racist, to smear you, ridicule you, punish you. Because you are not an individual. You are merely a cog, a prop in a white group already damned as racist.
It is guilt by genetics.
Tell me, again: Which is the party pushing a totalitarian ideology?
“Privilege is an unearned benefit given to people who are in a specific social group.”
Yes, and dictating that students should be awarded grades on par or higher than other students based solely on race and disregarding mastery of the subject meets this definition precisely. Who needs to “check their privilege” now?!?!? This DEI Nonsense needs to go, it’s so dishonest, discriminatory, racist and unconstitutional!
This story is extremely disturbing White students and faculty members witnessing and targeted by these DEI tactics are victims of racism. These policies and endeavors employed by DEI programs are both racist and sadistic. These DEI departments, officers and universities must be sued for damages. Perhaps financially draining these colleges will stop this madness that is getting evil and out of control
Such a shocker the defendants are white leftist women.
Intellectually deficient by default.
How
And in Africa they cut whites up with machetes
Penn is set on trying this case because it is intellectually impossible for them to settle. To settle would imply that their DEI efforts are somehow wrong. (Despite statements accompanying settlements saying the party does not admit to any fault the implication does exist.) Penn can’t admit that their DEI efforts are wrong because DEI is a cult belief system. So they will fight this out, and when they lose they will blame the legal system for their loss and still refuse to admit that DEI is a problem. DEI can’t be reformed. It has to be purged from wherever it has taken root. DEI’s ideological commissars will not consent to being reformed, and have to be shown the door.
And they wonder why enrollment is down….cant fix stupid
Or, better yet, the window!
Blacks cannot compete with Asians and whites due to low IQ’s
That is the justification for DEI. It’s liberal white elites forcing blacks to internalize acceptance of racial inferiority based on admitting there is a disparity in achievement due to a disparity in aptitude and so to combat this, enforce discrimination against (non liberal) whites . Just watch out because when the inmates run the asylum , society and its institution will crumble from mediocrity.
Imagine your surgeon, your pilot, your retirement advisor, your pharmacist all as DEI underperformers with tragic consequences for you.
Claudine Gay is the ultimate example but there are thousands others like her. Sadly, when then meeting a black surgeon or pilot etc everyone will assume they are there not for the aptitude but rather to fill a DEI spot: less not more respect for them results and the public will avoid them for fear (justified) of foreseeable failure
DEI is all part of the Democrat efforts to keep black Americans on their plantations, this time an election plantation.
Sheeple, DEI = Communism. In order for communists to rule the world, white western civilization has to go.
DEI is a construct created by psychs to create racism, the same group of people who created the racism of WW2 by eugenicist doctors. cchrint.org has the info.
As a parent of a white Penn State grad last year, I wonder how my daughter was graded as compared to the other students. All in, we spent about $250,000 these past 4 years! Did we pay almost a quarter million for my kid to be treated badly or unequally?
Yes you did !
Unfortunately yes. But if you raised he correctly, she’ll snap out it.
She did well and immediately employed because she got a meaningful and useful stem degree.
I don’t know, did you?
Why anyone would pay that kind of money to be brainwashed in addition to penalized for being white is a mystery to me. Go to a community college, a trade school, just don’t waste your money on these leftist cesspools.
You made a bad financial decision. The info to make a good one was available prior to four years ago. You should have done research. You screwed up. Could have had alot of extra moo-lah in your account.
Think of what you could have done for your daughter with those funds. Started a business for her or something life changing and worthwhile. Not to mention keeping her away from the pedos and the brainwashing.
You did the right thing. As responsible parents you knew from the day she was born that you would do all you could to do to prepare her for life away from your guidance.
Schooling is there for her to learn. Hopefully she picked the courses that would make her a responsible self supporting person. If she has any student loans, and if you taught her good values, she’ll pay them back on time. Sit back and watch her do well.
Now when it comes to her wedding, there’s no reason to waste a lot of money for a few hours of hoopla.
The people behind all the discrimination of Whites really need to stop. People are becoming aware of their activities. If they don’t stop attacking White people they might unleash something that would make Oct 7th look like a walk in the park. No one wants that. So please layoff the racist DEI bullshtein.
Own it, face the pitchforks and torches with stoicism.
chester the molester
Gee, I wonder how many of these large corporations that back this crazy garbage are going to be able to figure out who earned their education and who didn’t.
They’ll probably go by the Boeing Method which is to wait and see what stays up in the air and what doesn’t!
Well, when a company, say, United Airlines, starts having their planes fall out of the sky because they hired people with the ‘right color’ over the ‘ right skills’ , they may have to rethink their Diversity Policy…..
Gravity is racist…….
“…They do not expect black or Hispanic students to achieve the same mastery of academic subject matters as other students and therefore insist that deficient performance must be excused.” As a Latina I find this attitude demeaning and insulting.
As well you should.
I agree….you should
Well then don’t vote for Democrats or stealth Democrats, otherwise known as RINO’S.
Fly the Friendly skies with this CEO in charge.
Yeah?
No.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1747953008225521757
Raise kids to think binary, and they will act binary, whatever your home values were. This should not be difficult to understand. People from non-radical homes need to take a look at this as much as anyone. This story does not surprise me in the least. Stop raising your kids this way, and things will be different, period. That is as much a conservative problem as anyone else’s. Baby the **** out of your kids into early adulthood, and they will be grownup babies. I actually see this *worse* with conservative parents, much to my shock, believe me; you could easily mistake a teen’s mom in these towns for their girlfriend if you saw them walking into the supermarket together. This is generational, and it stops when we stop it. I am not confident that younger parents are capable of that. Not at all, across the entire spectrum. This is not a political issue. 🫤
For the pop-culture metaphor inclined, imagine Game of Thrones where a kid was breastfeeding well into the teen years and you get the idea. The world with all of its dissonance, a society made up of individuals with individual experiences is not and never will be a t**** you can just grab and be comforted by. That is not the ‘real world’, it’s the consequence of living in a world you share with other people. We are very, very lost in the West, and we did it to ourselves. Not too late to course correct, but that will require courage. The real kind, not the Instagram version. That did not used to be a Herculean proposition.
Incoherent
To James. A-Men. Has been a long time since that has been legibly put forth. I am a man pussy, but nowhere near the current idoration.At least I know what I am.
James, can you dumb that down a little, please, just for us regular people?