Our governor is gaslighting us. There are no diversity statements that must be signed — just requirements that applicants submit an essay describing their background, experience and commitments as they relate to departmental values and goals.

Most realize this is not the same thing. But Jennifer Napier-Pearce, the spokesperson for Gov. Cox, decided to do a little gaslighting on her own. “If these aren’t diversity statements, I’m not sure what is,” she responded to the uproar. I am sure she knows the difference between asking a candidate to clarify the ways in which they would support a department’s values vs. requiring someone to sign a statement as a condition of employment. She purposefully misstated what he said and then blamed those who correctly stated that what he said was not true, thereby insinuating that the questioner was the problem, making them seem “crazy.” That is classic gaslighting.

I might have given her the benefit of the doubt, but then I attended a lecture she gave where she again resorted to gaslighting and shaming a person who questioned her. She remarked that it was ridiculous to ask a botany professor to submit a statement on diversity as though a botany department should not have diverse students or faculty.

She either has no knowledge of, or chooses to ignore, the fact that beliefs and biases play out in how curriculums are designed and taught, as well as how students and faculty are treated and given opportunities to advance.

Finally, Gov. Cox talked about the number of people that DEI programs employ, thereby suggesting overreach. He further questioned whether this investment produced beneficial outcomes without providing any data to support his concerns. Rather, his conclusions appear to come straight from the conservative Heritage Foundation’s paper that Andy Larsen dissected expertly in his Salt Lake Tribune article.

Gov. Cox assures us he has everyone’s best interest at heart and bemoans the fact that men are now the struggling class. However, statistics show that male enrollments have not dropped, but have just grown more slowly. I feel a whiplash effect. If more women and minorities are attending our universities, the DEI efforts appear to be working. If he wants to increase male enrollment, does it make sense to dismantle efforts that have benefited other groups?

This same logic was used to dismantle voting rights protections. Since people that have historically been prevented from voting are now voting, we can certainly remove the safeguards protecting that right.

The real sleight of hand here is that, as Gov.Cox professes to value everyone, he focuses his constituents on hate, reinforcing right-wing conspiracies. At the same time, he ignores or downplays the real threats of climate change; the disappearing Great Salt Lake; and continued disparities in income, wealth and other key outcome measures among women and other minorities vs. white males.

Gov. Cox, you aren’t fooling everyone. You have thrown red meat to your far-right base, increased anger and undermined any efforts to disagree better. Just for the record, disagreeing better was never a solution or your intent. It appears your goal is to placate your base.

If you truly mean what you say, I call on you to resist the efforts of our Republican legislators to throw gasoline on the fires of discrimination, racism and hate stoked by the anti-DEI bills of Reps. Hall and Jimenez (H.B. 261; H.B. 111), the “bathroom bills” of Reps. Birkeland and Lyman (H.B. 257; H.B. 253), and Rep. Lee’s efforts to deprive undocumented immigrant children access public education (H.J.R. 12).

I also call on our legislators to understand that these bills do not promote equality but will cause us to regress into the discriminatory patterns of the past. As we just celebrated the Martin Luther King holiday, I urge you to move forward in genuine efforts to erase the inequities that women, racial and ethnic minorities, and our LGBTQ families, friends and colleagues experience every day.

I also call on all concerned citizens to make your voices heard. Find your representative’s contact information at le.utah.gov and speak up.

Terri Jo Lorz is a grandmother and mother who has made Utah her home for over 35 years. She is a graduate of BYU with a graduate certificate in mediation from the University of Utah. She currently lives in Salt Lake City with her husband, two cats and dog.