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"This is why we have to fight": University of Idaho students protest following announcement of potential DEI changes

Strong words were spoken by dozens of U of I students as they walked across campus after hearing word about the DEI offices potentially being closed down.

MOSCOW, Idaho — Dozens of University of Idaho students protested across campus after hearing that diversity, equity and inclusion programs could be taken away.

The Idaho State Board of Education reviewed and wrote a draft of a resolution Thursday, saying no central office, policy, procedure or initiative would be dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

It's a draft students don't want to see as a reality. "It is very upsetting and shocking and frankly disgusting," Alia Schmitt said.

Schmitt is a fourth-year student at U of I, working as the administrative assistant for the student organization Unity, an organization designed to promote and support multicultural organizations.

Schmitt organized the protest against something she said hits home. "This has been a family, like a family away from my family that I've been able to create," Schmitt said.

It's a family Schmitt said is sticking together during an uncertain time. "We are mostly trying to say that we are not just a pop, we are not just a political number, we are not just like a demographic, we are real people, and their political gains that they're having at the state are affecting us," Schmitt said.

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