Colorado College (CC) is currently attempting to forge a new path in the world of woke by establishing the first transfer opportunity in the United States for students wishing to flee from states that have passed legislation against far-left ideological Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices.
On September 14, the school announced the HAVEN program, an acronym for Healing and Affirming Village and Empowerment Network. The program will, according to the college, provide “any student wanting to leave institutions of higher education” in states that have passed anti-DEI legislation “timely transfer admission to CC.”
The arrangements that CC has incorporated into the HAVEN program to support transfer for students seeking to escape “repressive laws” include “offering full financial aid consideration” and “full credit for transferable coursework.” HAVEN also “guarantees on-campus housing along with access to campus resources,” including “counseling and identity-affirming programming.” The only qualifications for transferring to this diversity paradise are for students to be “degree-seeking with the intent to transfer to and graduate from Colorado College.”
The creation of this program seems to confirm that the anti-DEI policies promulgated by a number of states in recent years are having their desired effect. Recently, Florida took the significant step of proposing legislation that would prohibit universities from using taxpayer money to fund political and social activism. Similar legislation was implemented in Arizona in 2022. The anxiety about this variety of legislation is so great that Florida was even specifically mentioned as one of the states from which students would likely wish to flee, by means of the HAVEN program.
The establishment of HAVEN necessarily raises the question of what comes next for DEI and its defenders. Perhaps, an all-expenses paid travel service for students forced to seek ideological asylum in woke states? Time will tell.