This is part of a series of forward-looking predictions for 2025. Read more.
After decades of false starts, I signed up for my first adult beginner swim course in spring 2024. Why the false starts? My childhood fear of water stemmed from my unfamiliarity with swimming, compounded by financial barriers, leading to my disinterest in swimming until later in life.
My plunge into learning this life skill began just as Utah House Bill 261, titled “Equal Opportunity Initiatives,” went into effect on July 1. The law bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices or staff and mandatory diversity training at the state’s public colleges and universities. It also prohibits using diversity statements in hiring and promotion and considering race, ethnicity, sex or national origin in admissions or employment. This law followed the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling restricting race in college and university admissions, amplifying concerns about discrimination against majority groups and increasing scrutiny of such initiatives. Please note that I intentionally avoid using the acronym “DEI” as acronyms often generate confusion, and, in the case of diversity, equity and inclusion, they evoke polarizing political or ideological reactions that detract from the integrity of these principles and practices.
When invited to share my perspective on the future of diversity, equity and inclusion, I knew it would be challenging. These efforts are facing crisis-level political, rhetorical and operational pressures. As a Utah resident for nearly 13 years and, thanks to HB261, likely the only remaining (officially titled) higher education chief diversity officer in the state, I accepted the challenge, hopeful that these principles remain a catalyst for positive change in Utah and beyond.
So how does my swim lesson story relate to the future of diversity, equity and inclusion? The current legislative restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programs mirror historical resistance to racial integration of public swimming pools. Municipalities used tactics to block access for Black, Latino and Asian communities. These retaliatory methods reflect the self-sabotaging dynamics of the zero-sum principle, whereby one person’s or group’s gain equals another’s loss. When public pools closed, everyone lost the benefits of community connections, better public health and access to shared spaces. Racial disparities in swim access and water safety persist, with Hispanic/Latino and Black children having little to no swimming ability. Black children experience significantly higher drowning rates in swimming pools compared to their white peers.
Anti-diversity, equity and inclusion legislation echo the zero-sum logic of restricted access to public pools, grossly assuming that expanding fairness and opportunity occurs at the expense of majority groups. Eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion harms all students. Reduced campus diversity limits exposure to different viewpoints, hindering critical thinking and preparation for a global workforce. Further, weakened accountability mechanisms for bias, discrimination and harassment foster unwelcome or hostile campus environments. As the nation and Utah become more racially and ethnically diverse, colleges and universities must be prepared to serve larger, more varied groups of students for a global marketplace.
Likely prompted by HB261, diversity, equity and inclusion remained a widely discussed topic throughout the year. Salt Lake Tribune Voices contributors, including a Brigham Young University graduate, a University of Utah doctoral student and a parent of a neurodiverse son, along with K-12 educators, a higher ed faculty member and administrator expressed their concerns from their respective vantage points. Even a critic of the diversity, equity and inclusion discourse concurs with the plea for credible, reliably-informed considerations rather than outright elimination. Two Brigham Young University professors authored a December 2024 op-ed calling for the repeal of HB261. This move would be a significant step toward (re)aligning with the state’s espoused values of diversity, equity and inclusion, as articulated in the 2020 Utah Compact on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
If a public swimming pool is like a college campus, imagine a future where everyone swims together. Instructors recognize each student’s unique curiosities, fears and skill levels — united by a shared goal of learning a new life skill. In the pool, it’s water safety; on campus, it’s their chosen major or area of interest. Some students may need tools like pool noodles, swim goggles or life vests to navigate challenges or unexpected changes in the water. Similarly, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives provide students with essential resources, such as anti-discrimination policies, cultural centers and accommodations for students with disabilities, to facilitate their fair access to education.
Access to public swimming pools is a shining example of a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative that tailors the guidance, tools and support to meet each learner’s needs. I am delighted to share that after completing the adult beginner swim course four times, I successfully met the course benchmarks in fall 2024. I remain committed to improving my swimming skills and championing for inclusive, accessible spaces for all learners. The future of Utah and humanity as we know it depends on what we do today — together.
Tamara N. Stevenson, Ed.D. (she/her) is vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, chief diversity officer and associate professor of communication at Westminster University in Salt Lake City. She is a first-generation college graduate with degrees in journalism, organizational communication and educational leadership. She completed her adult beginner swim course at the Holladay Lions Recreation Center.
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