How I fought land acknowledgements on campus and won

They broke the law, but refuse to admit it.My four-year battle with the University of Washington (UW) ended when it agreed to pay $600,000 for violating my First Amendment rights.And yet, UW still says: “We acted appropriately, and this settlement is in no way an admission of any wrongdoing.”In the last 10 years, I have grown increasingly concerned about a new orthodoxy being imposed on campus, particularly at our most prestigious institutions — in Washington, California and elsewhere.It has often gone under the misleading title of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Inclusion, for example, involves excluding ideas that were deemed inappropriate.Anyone who disagreed was sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, colonialist and just downright immoral.At UW we were encouraged to include an indigenous land acknowledgement on our course syllabus.

These are sombre declarations intended to imply that land was stolen from local tribes.For example, the version used at UC Berkeley’s health services division says, in part:“By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold the University of California, Berkeley more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.“We also affirm that this acknowledgment is insufficient.

It does not undo the harm that has been done and continues to be perpetrated now against indigenous people, their land, and water.“ California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story I consider such statements to be performative acts of conformity, and I initially ignored UW’s advice.

But I realized I could express my disagreement by including a parody version.The university was not amused, and it retaliated by censoring my syllabus, apologizing to my students for my statemen...