Political science professor Dr. Carol Swain is one of the academics whom Claudine Gay, president of Harvard, plagiarized. Swain has called for Gay’s firing and a “return to sanity” by Harvard University. Here, she explains how the insanity has spread across higher education — with a philosophy labeled DEI.

A few months ago, I was invited to apply for a visiting professorship at a major university out west. As part of the application, I had to submit a mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statement.

It was difficult to write because I believe that all DEI programs should be abolished and that we can achieve diversity without discrimination. As I argued in my co-authored book, “The Adversity of Diversity,” DEI programs are divisive, and many, if not all, of the programs violate our civil rights laws, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Therefore, I argued that diversity programs should share the same fate as race-based college admissions, which the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional last June.

Below are some of the main thoughts I offered in my required DEI statement:

I am fervently committed to advancing diversity, equal opportunity – not equity – and inclusion, resulting in a policy that can promote true integration and respect of individuals in American institutions and society. True diversity comes through the practice of nondiscrimination, outreach, and compliance with existing civil rights law and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Honoring the First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion can and should result in diversity of thought and goodwill among diverse groups of people. Institutions can and should abide by the First Amendment. Institutional leaders should encourage and promote the simple but enduring tenets of the Golden Rule: treat others how you would like them to treat you.

This approach truly does work. I speak as a person who started life in poverty, dropped out of middle school, married at age 16, and had three children before I turned 21. And yet I found success.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination on account of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion; its passage opened doors for people like me. It created a merit-based system, where nondiscrimination in hiring and college admissions became a reality.

I had the good fortune to benefit from the possibility for the recruitment of talented minorities. I believe this should still be true: we should continue to recruit talented individuals from diverse groups that include poor whites and Asians. We can have integrated workplaces and campuses if we become creative in how we define diversity and how we go about pursuing it: not merely based on the obviousness of race or ethnicity, but on concepts like character and vision. I believe we can accomplish this approach to diversity goals within the confines of current state and federal laws.

Treating everyone equally under the law should be a given. Recruiting talented individuals and helping where needed on an equal basis is where our nation should be headed if we are to achieve equality of opportunity in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

I strongly believe that this alternative approach to diversifying institutions can be a counter to America’s divisive DEI programs. It should work because of what we know about human nature and, I dare say, what I have personally witnessed during my lifetime.

I have had the good fortune of having experienced America from the vantage point of all different social classes and belief systems. I would like our young people to know what I’ve come to realize: that in this country, where you start your life does not determine where you end up.

As I’ve shared in the PragerU video, “What I can Teach You About Racism”:  You can start out with every advantage and waste them all. Or you can start out with nothing and become a success. It all depends on you. Your attitude is far more important than your race, gender, or social class in determining what you will accomplish in life.

Although I did not get the visiting teaching position, hopefully, I left the selection committee with a perspective worth pondering. 

Dr. Carol M. Swain, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Faith and Culture, is the author of “The Adversity of Diversity: How the Supreme Court’s Decision to Remove Race from College Admissions Criteria Will Doom Diversity Programs” (co-authored with Mike Towle).