Alexandra Howard | Staff Writer
A dark blanket of uncertainty draped the shoulders of multicultural clubs and organizations that promote diversity, equity and inclusion on July 1. But why hasn’t FIU officially addressed this yet?
The fall 2023 semester is right around the corner, so FIU must be planning how they’ll address their implementation of Senate Bill 266. Our university must advise our student organizations on what they can and cannot do before the next semester begins.
Because, for now, the law seems vague in what falls under the umbrella of DEI.
According to the Florida Senate, this new law states universities will not be allowed to use federal or state funds to “promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism.”
There are 99 clubs in FIU whose essence revolves around promoting diversity-driven initiatives. So, with this regulation, student organizations naturally worry about how this will affect them.
“With the implementation of HB999 at FIU, our largest concern is regarding budgeting for our events in the upcoming semester,” said Amanda Gonzalez, president of the Korean Culture Club beginning fall 2023. “Many of the events we have in mind would no longer be possible on the same scale and, therefore, would have to be revised accordingly.”
Some organizations, like the Pride Student Union, are confident they’ll still hold activities in the fall. Yet, they are concerned about types of advocacy-related activities, such as protests, that the union has funded in the past.
An important thing to note is that DEI-based university bureaucracies are the only ones that fall under this prohibition.
Earlier this year, the Student Government Association passed a motion to grant the Director of Budgets $4,081,289 for student organizations. FIU Registered Students Organizations Council’s manual states that it manages club funding.
The council grants $400 each fall and spring semester for returning clubs. New student organizations receive $300 for those semesters.
The RSOC manual states it also allows for special allocation funding, which cannot exceed $1000, to organizations that wish to “supplement the cost of an event or program that fulfills the organization’s mission and purpose and is based on points earned by participating in the RSOC point system.”
Student organizations need six RSOC points to prove they are active at FIU.
With a standard annual funding of $600 to $800, it’s worrisome for clubs that wish to be independent of these state regulations because they would need to charge attendees expensive membership dues.
But, some potential political loopholes exist.
What if clubs have diversity, equity and inclusion in their mission statement? Even if a club alters its mission statement to follow HB999 and SB266, can they still receive state or federal funding? PantherNOW reached out to RSOC and they didn’t respond.
This new law might have student organizations in a chokehold since RSO is the provider of their funds and may not receive approval for DEI-oriented and activism events.
FIU must stop avoiding this subject and tell the university community about its plans. The fall semester is quickly approaching, and students and executive board members are left to figure out the new law themselves – which is extremely upsetting and disappointing.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
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