Anti-diversity lawsuits likely to hurt the scientific community, say scholars
The Scholars Program has provided funding for around 3,500 students to support their studies in scientific fields. With these lawsuits, “there are students who are currently enrolled, students who will be enrolled, who see themselves being attacked,” said Matt Hartings, an associate professor of chemistry at American University.
The potential loss of these programs, Harpalani added, could have a detrimental effect on scientific research: If underrepresented scientists no longer have the resources to continue in their careers, the field might lose important role models and new ways of thinking. Mindiola shared a similar sentiment. “I think what makes science move forward is to have a different perspective, because you come from a different background,” he said.
Harpalani also pointed out that physicians of color are more likely to provide medical service in underserved areas. And some recent research has suggested that racial concordance, in which a patient and a physician are the same race and the driving force behind the Black Doctors Directory, helps patients get better care and have more trust in the health care system. Other research has found that the evidence for this is more mixed, however, and the lawsuit that Do No Harm filed against University of Pennsylvania describes the notion of racial concordance as “thoroughly debunked.”
The American Chemical Society, meanwhile, is already changing language related to diversity, editing a headline on its website from “Advancing ACS’ Core Value of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect” to “Advancing ACS’ Core Value of Inclusion and Belonging.” The recent round of applications for the Scholars Program just closed on March 1, though it remains unclear whether the program will continue. Mindiola said he normally gets asked to be on the selection committee for high school and college applicants, but did not receive an inquiry this year. The ACS did not respond to a request for comment because they do “not comment on active litigation.”
Morenoff, at the Manhattan Institute, thinks Do No Harm’s lawsuit has a good shot at success: “I would bet pretty strongly that if this gets fought out, Do No Harm is going to win.”
But Hartings suggested that even short of a court victory, the mere threat of lawsuits is likely to push many organizations to cancel or scale back their diversity programming, “Even that’s a win for them,” he said.
This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.
