An Open Letter To Joseph Harroz
All OU Shareholders Deserve Public Answers To These Questions
Dear President Joseph Harroz,
Considering your administration’s unprecedented investment and commitment to CRT derived DEI/Antiracism/Social Justice, on behalf of your student, faculty, and alumni shareholders, I respectfully request that you publicly answer the following questions:
Is OU a Racist institution? If so, what makes OU Racist?
If OU is not a Racist institution, what necessitates the massive investment in DEI and the implementation of DEI/antiracist/Social Justice policies at OU?
Does OU currently have any active Racist policies being enforced on campus today? If so, what are they and how do you plan on addressing them?
If masking and other covid policies have a disproportionally negative outcome for “historically marginalized” identity groups, are those policies in conflict with DEI ideology and with OU’s commitment and pursuit of “Social Justice” based Equity?
What is the basic mechanism(s) for creating Equity at OU?
Can Equity ever be achieved at OU or any other institution?
If so, what is the metric/rubric for determining whether Equity has been achieved at OU?
What factors are considered when diagnosing inequity at OU and what is the process for determining if those factors are present?
Should merit and equal opportunity for each individual ever supersede the overall systemic goal of creating Equity at OU? If so, in what instances?
Do President Joseph Harroz and the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, subscribe to “Anti-Racist” ideology regarding public policy as defined by Ibram X. Kendi in his book, “How To Be An Antiracist?” If so, what mechanisms are used by DEI to enforce antiRacist policies at OU?
Is it necessary to discriminate against individuals who belong to “historically oppressive identity groups” at OU to attain identity group based Equity at OU?
If there is ever a conflict between Academic Freedom at OU and the stated goal of creating equity, who will determine which concept will take precedence, and what methodology/rubric is used to make that determination?
If a person denies their unconscious bias or racism, is that denial acceptable prima facie evidence of the existence of that person’s unconscious bias or racism?
If a student or faculty member happens to be a member of an “historically oppressive identity group” and feels as though they have suffered discrimination at OU as a result of DEI policies that stereotype them based upon their race or gender, will that “historically oppressive” individual’s lived experience be considered equally valid (compared to an individual who belongs to an “historically marginalized group”) by OU Title IX Office/DEI Office?
If so, how can OU create and ensure Equity between every identity group, while maintaining equal opportunity for every individual on campus?
If there is a conflict between creating and maintaining Equity between disparate identity groups and creating and maintaining Equal Opportunity for every individual regardless of identity group, what divisions, offices, and individuals will determine which mandate will take precedence?
Will identity group based equity (in terms of Equity representation percentages as defined by Kendi) also be consistently applied to sports and sports recruiting at OU? If so, how and when will this process begin?
In what ways do the Equity Officer’s and the Equal Opportunity Officers interact and if there is a conflict between these officers, what entity at OU is charged with mediating and resolving this conflict?
Is a pursuit of “Social Justice” that requires discrimination against individuals via institutional policy, a violation of federal and state law? Why or why not?
When hiring faculty, staff, and other positions at OU, what input does DEI have in the questions asked to potential candidates?
What is OU doing to ensure that faculty and teaching staff have an Equitable distribution of viewpoints represented on campus and in the classroom?
