Steve MacDonald: Some Vermonters are more equal than others
In Burlington, Vermont, to use public land reserved for gardening you must swear a loyalty oath to their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion gods.
Vermont pays $220,000 to advance IDEAL Vermont DEI activity in municipalities
IDEAL Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott said, will work to advance those metrics at the city and municipality level in the state in an effort to remove structural barriers and increase meaningful inclusion and representation. The program was funded by the state with an appropriation of $220,000.
No harvest for Burlington community gardeners refusing DEI pledge
As part of its “deep organizational work to address racism as a public health crisis,” the city of Burlington won’t allow people who refuse to sign a diversity pledge to grow food in a taxpayer-funded community garden.
Governor Phil Scott and the Office of Racial Equity promote IDEAL Vermont
Already, dozens of Vermont’s communities have taken steps to be more inclusive, with at least 79 municipalities having adopted a Declaration of Inclusion as of November 2022 and 14 municipalities represented on the Equity Committee of the Vermont League of Cities & Towns (VLCT).
Lindberg: Prop 2 banning slavery is little more than lip service
Voting to add language that outlaws a practice that has been outlawed for nearly three centuries asks nothing of us. How many of those who championed Prop 2 are willing to accept the ecological and human rights travetsies that lay in the wake of EV manfacturing?
Proposal 2 advocate calls incarceration ‘the new slavery’
Proposal 2/Article 1, the anti-slavery amendment to the Vermont Constitution on Tuesday’s General Election ballot, is supported by criminal justice reform advocates who liken present-day incarceration to slavery. This fact may surprise Vermonters.
Colleges chose diversity over merit. Now, they’re getting neither
Eliminating the use of standardized college admission tests to judge college applicants in order to increase diversity on campus is not working, according to an October report.
Keelan: Well-intentioned racism report goes sideways
But with any published piece, there can be room for suggestions, criticism, or both. The “Vermont Racial Equity Report 2022” is no different.
Biden admin to investigate University of Vermont for alleged antisemitism
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a complaint in 2021 on behalf of students at the university who said they had faced antisemitic cyberbullying and harassment by other students and a teaching assistant, leading to a hostile environment on campus which the university allegedly did not address.
High school social justice report suggests half of all Vermont kids struggling with racism
The 2022 Racial Equity Report put together by the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network was presented to the public during a Zoom presentation last Monday.
Bennington residents asked to ‘un-learn’ ideas that don’t support equity
The Bennington Selectboard may be participating in the state’s Racial Equity Advisory Panel’s IDEAL Vermont initiative, which is about “advancing equity at the local level.”
Yes, slavery is on the ballot in these states
About 20 state constitutions have exception clauses that allow either slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. Vermont prides itself on being the first in the nation to ban slavery in 1777, but its constitution allows involuntary servitude in certain circumstances, such as to pay a debt, damage, fine or other cost.