NEW: WaPo Editorial Board comes out against DEI statements, says they stifle free speech

The Washington Post editorial board has come out against required DEI statements in academic hiring at colleges and universities. Some schools have recently abandonded the practice as well amid backlash against affirmative action.

In recent Sunday opinion piece from the Washington Post Editorial Board "The problem with diversity statements — and what to do about them," the more liberal-leaning newspaper stated that "DEI statements have too often led to self-censorship and ideological policing." 

The piece begins with a short history of DEI statements and how they came to be required for hiring by colleges and universities throughout the country.  

WaPo's editorial board then wrote, "Now, however, some in academia are starting to express second thoughts about this practice. In April, Harvard Law School professor Randall L. Kennedy urged abolition of DEI statements, arguing that they amount to 'compulsion' and 'ideological litmus tests.'" 

The opinion piece gave the example of MIT as a school that has ended the practice because of the compelled nature of the statements to express thoughts about political topics.   

"Whatever their original intent, the use of DEI statements has too often resulted in self-censorship and ideological policing. Fundamentally reconsidering them could actually strengthen DEI, by placing it on a more sustainable basis — intellectually and politically. MIT is one of the first to tackle the issue; here’s hoping it won’t be the last," the editorial board concluded in its opinion.