Tipsheet

Woke Is Alive and Well at Kent State University

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  December 08, 2025 12:00 PM

In case you were wondering if DEI nonsense had died on college campuses, we regret that we have to inform you it hasn't. At Ohio's Kent State University, the school has enacted policies that discriminate against white students in the music program, in the name of preventing "cultural appropriation." 

First, the school's a capella group has banned white students from solo auditions.

Here's more from Campus Reform:

An a cappella group at Kent State University in Ohio allegedly banned white students from auditioning for certain solos and disciplined a longtime member for questioning the race-based policy.

Emails obtained by Campus Reform display how Vocal Intensity A Cappella limited certain solos to “people of color,” claiming white students would be engaging in “cultural appropriation” if they were to perform them.

Mark Phillips, a three-year member and the a cappella group’s beatboxer, contacted a board member to inquire about how the exclusion of white students aligned with Kent State’s anti-discrimination policies. Phillips suggested the limitation seemed “at odds with equal opportunity” in his message to the executive board.

“I fully respect concerns about authenticity, but I also believe that whoever gives the strongest performance should be given the chance,” he wrote. “Art, music, and culture are meant to be shared and celebrated, not gatekept.” 

In response, the board accused him of violating the university’s anti-discrimination policy, placed him on probation, and scheduled a disciplinary hearing requiring him to “plead his case” before the entire group.

That's a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and discriminatory on its face. 

The prohibition also means white students can't use music by minority artists, citing "cultural appropriation" concerns.

Does that mean minority students will be prohibited from performing a piece by Mozart or Beethoven? Those are white composers, and it would be "cultural appropriation" for a black student to use those works in their audition, no?

The rule doesn't apply both ways, we fear.

That's the only way to do this, and Congress should act.

That's a fair question. Dolly Parton wrote that song, and she's white. Whitney Houston's version is, arguably, the most popular cover of that song — by Diacon's logic, that's "cultural appropriation," isn't it? Would a white student be able to use that song to audition?

The mind reels at the insanity of these DEI policies.