const observer = new MutationObserver((mutations) => { const adDivToHide = document.querySelector(“#dailycaller_incontent_1”); if (adDivToHide && dc_noads_page) { adDivToHide.classList.add(“hide-premium”, “hide-free”); observer.disconnect(); console.log(“Ad div found and hidden”); } }); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });

Three Ohio universities are the subject of federal complaints alleging that administrators were recorded saying diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices that state law restricts continue at their campuses and attributing responsibility to white people for making the issue prominent.

Hidden-camera footage recorded by Accuracy in Media (AIM) at Ohio State University, Kent State University and the University of Cincinnati shows staff discussing efforts to make superficial changes that conceal continued DEI activity while maintaining its substance. In some instances, staff members were recorded referring to “white men” or “the whites” when explaining the perceived need for such measures. Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) filed federal complaints Monday against each of the schools, in materials shared exclusively with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(new Image()).src = ‘https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=739c4263-c671-4316-b7cf-ecd244900844&cid=9c4d09f1-aa3e-4da1-ad63-362d562ecfad’; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: “739c4263-c671-4316-b7cf-ecd244900844” }).render(“59f64f116598417b8d610477330f5a3e”); });

At Kent State, a woman in charge of preparing future teachers told an undercover AIM investigator that the Republican push to reform education and end discriminatory practices is just meant “to keep white men in power.” (RELATED: Leftists Tell Conservative Students To Kill Themselves, Use Kirk Assassination Images To Threaten Event)

“This is what it’s all about,” Jennifer Walton-Fisette stated. “If we dumb down education then we can continue that. So that’s what the ultimate goal is.”

Walton-Fisette acknowledged that the school — and particularly the College of Education — is maintaining DEI programs.

const observer2 = new MutationObserver((mutations) => { const adDivToHide2 = document.querySelector(“#dailycaller_incontent_2”); if (adDivToHide2 && dc_noads_page) { adDivToHide2.classList.add(“hide-premium”, “hide-free”); observer2.disconnect(); console.log(“Ad div2 found and hidden”); } }); observer2.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });

“One thing I can say about Kent State University and our Teacher Ed program — they are all about diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Walton-Fisette said in the AIM video. “It’s not being forced through a Trumpian lens — it’s taking away the buzzwords and having to be more careful of how you’re talking about equity and inclusion.”

She also suggested the pro-DEI approach extends beyond the Kent campus, saying that even at the state level, “they are all about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”

“Kent State University is committed to following state law, including full compliance with Senate Bill 1,” a university spokesman told the DCNF. “Simply put, Kent State complies with the laws of the state of Ohio. The employee in the video does not speak for Kent State as an institution and appears to be largely expressing her personal point of view.”

const observer3 = new MutationObserver((mutations) => { const adDivToHide3 = document.querySelector(“#dailycaller_incontent_3”); if (adDivToHide3 && dc_noads_page) { adDivToHide3.classList.add(“hide-premium”, “hide-free”); observer3.disconnect(); console.log(“Ad div found and hidden”); } }); observer3.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });

An Ohio State administrator made similar remarks in a separate AIM video.

“The ‘whites’ are there too, not just the underrepresented,” Melissa Newhouse, an administrative assistant to the dean’s office, said in the video in reference to the school’s recently revamped multicultural center. “They brought the people with the privilege there too.”

The lawmakers pushing restrictions on DEI, Newhouse said, “want American white people to be in there.”

“Because of the law, we had to change signs and centers,” Newhouse said, according to AIM. “We’re very diverse and [the administrators] are extremely passionate about that, and we are doing what we can. They’re still doing things.”

The complaint alleges those changes to programs and signage are largely cosmetic while administrators continue to advance the policies the law intended to restrict. At the same time, Ohio State is shown in the video to have received “a lot of grants for equity and access in education” funded by Apple, Newhouse said.

When later confronted by AIM investigators, Newhouse denied the statements and claimed the video of her making them must be fake.

“That’s AI. It’s gotta be. That’s not me saying that,” she insisted.

A spokesman for the university told the DCNF that Ohio State is complying with the law and that officials are reviewing the AIM video. “The individual in the video has no oversight of academics, curriculum or other college programming,” the spokesman said.

In another AIM video, sociology program director at the University of Cincinnati Katherine Jones admitted that discussions and critical analyses of “race, class, gender, sexuality, intersectionality” appear “in pretty much all of our classes.”

“[I]n the Sociology Department this is like a core of our curriculum. I mean, we can’t really strip it out. It’s baked into what we talk about and what we teach,” Jones told an undercover investigator. “The administration has said over and over again this is not to impact our curriculum … We are still teaching the same things we have always taught and we are prioritizing those types of analyses.”

The University of Cincinnati did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Ohio state law restricts DEI practices at public universities, including provisions on departments, positions and scholarships that rely on racial characteristics. President Donald Trump’s day-one executive order also bans federal funding for certain DEI initiatives.

PPT has asked the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services to investigate the universities and, where appropriate, take disciplinary action consistent with federal law and oversight responsibilities.

“Too many of our country’s higher education institutions appear to be obsessive in the pursuit of these discriminatory policies,” Michael Chamberlain, director of PPT, told the DCNF. “Even in the face of state laws, federal orders, and Supreme Court decisions, they opt to expend their energies hiding, evading, and concealing what they are doing rather than change course. Maybe the attention of the American public and oversight bodies will provide incentive for them to reconsider.”

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].