Several college administrators in the UNC school system have been fired after they were secretly recorded saying they were still trying to implement DEI policies.
Accuracy in Media, a non-profit which describes itself as using ‘citizen activism to expose corruption and law-breaking’, covertly filmed conversations with several North Carolina school employees which led to them losing their jobs.
President Donald Trump set to work dismantling DEI initiatives from federally-funded programs through a series of executive orders during his first weeks back in office.
The aggressive crackdown meant universities were asked to select students for admission based on their academic credentials rather than fulfilling diversity, equality and inclusion quotas.
UNC Asheville Dean of Students Megan Pugh was caught on tape saying administrators ‘probably still do’ implement DEI policies anyway but in a ‘quiet’ way, adding: ‘I love breaking the rules’.
Several other administrators in the state were also seen on camera echoing the same sentiment. Some of those taped lost their jobs as a result.
‘I’m so glad that you guys are still doing equity work,’ the undercover reporter told Pugh on a Zoom call captured in one video.
‘I mean, we probably still do anyway, but you know, gotta keep it quiet,’ Pugh replied.
Several college administrators in the UNC school system have been fired after they were secretly recorded saying they were still trying to implement DEI policies, including UNC Asheville Dean of Students Megan Pugh (pictured above in one covert video)
Pugh was caught saying administrators ‘probably still do’ implement DEI policies anyway but in a ‘quiet’ way, adding: ‘I love breaking the rules’. She no longer works at UNC Asheville
A former Assistant Director at UNC Charlotte, Janique Sanders, was also caught on video echoing the same sentiment. She is no longer employed by the college
When the reporter asked if she had to ‘keep it on the down-low?’, Pugh said: ‘Yeah. But, I love breaking rules.’
She went on to say that administrators would keep pushing DEI policies, ‘until more or less, they get mad at us.’
Pugh also agreed that the school was ‘supportive’ of secretly continuing with DEI rules, adding that her ‘hope and intention’ was that ‘we can still incorporate those kinds of things but under a broader banner’.
She was later fired by the college, according to ABC11.
Assistant Director of Leadership and Community Engagement at UNC Charlotte, Janique Sanders, was also caught on video echoing the same sentiment.
‘If you are looking for an outward DEI position, not gunna happen,’ she told the undercover reporter, without knowing she was being filmed.
‘But if you are interested in doing work that is covert, there are opportunities.’
When asked whether equity work was still happening on campus, Sanders said: ‘I can’t say that, but… we’ve recalibrated, so to speak.’
‘I’m just really dedicated to making sure that our students feel loved and supported,’ she added. ‘I could care less about whatever you want to call our office.’
Sanders is ‘no longer employed’ by the institution, according to Yahoo.
UNC Wilmington employees Asher Persin and Ashlee Fleming were also recorded in similar interactions.
Persin, who is a coordinator at the school’s Mohin Scholz LGBTQIA Centerconfirmed that some staff were still working on DEI policies.
Meanwhile, Upperman African American Cultural Center coordinator Fleming said DEI was still being funded but money had been ‘moved around’.
The Daily Mail has contacted UNC press offices for comment.
Asher Persin, who is a coordinator at the school’s Mohin Scholz LGBTQIA Center, confirmed in one Accuracy in Media video that some staff were still working on DEI policies
Pictured: The University of North Carolina Asheville shown from an aerial perspective
A now-former UNC dean Megan Pugh was caught saying administrators ‘probably still do’ implement DEI policies anyway but in a ‘quiet’ way, adding: ‘I love breaking the rules’
Trump began his second term in the White House with a bonfire of DEI policies which the government said have been pushing antisemitic, anti-American, Marxist and ‘radical left’ ideologies.
In May, the Justice Department announced the formation of a new unit to crack down on federally-funded universities that have diversity, equity and inclusion policies using a civil anti-fraud law.
‘A university that accepts federal funds could violate the False Claims Act when it encourages antisemitism, refuses to protect Jewish students, allows men to intrude into women’s bathrooms or requires women to compete against men in athletic competitions,’ Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche said in the announcement.
‘Colleges and universities cannot accept federal funds while discriminating against their students.’
The False Claims Act is a federal civil law that allows the government to recover funds lost due to fraud. Private citizens can also use it to sue on the government’s behalf and can become eligible to receive a portion of the recovered proceeds.
