AUSTIN, Texas — Employees at the University of Texas at Austin are now feeling the impact of the statewide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ban.
UT plans to lay off dozens of employees who previously held DEI-related positions at the university as part of the fallout from Senate Bill 17.
Some UT students said they and the staff were shocked when the news dropped.
“Honestly, I cried and I was angry," Aaliyah Barlow, president of the Black Student Alliance, said.
"A lot of people are upset," UT junior Chrisdianna Mcafee said . "All of my group chats are raging. All of the GroupMes, all of the Slacks – everybody is raging."
Students and staff were told on Tuesday that the Division of Campus and Community Engagement would be closed. President Jay Hartzell wrote in a letter to the UT community, "We will continue to operate many programs with rich histories spanning decades, such as disability services, University Interscholastic League, the UT charter schools and volunteer programs."
RELATED: Texas Exes will host multiple cultural graduation celebrations for UT students following DEI ban
Hartzell's letter also states that funding used to support DEI programs across campus before SB 17 went into effect will be redeployed to support teaching and research. Assistant or associate deans formerly focused on DEI will also return to their full-time positions.
It remains unclear how many people will be laid off with the changes, but according to KVUE's media partners at the Austin-American Statesman, at least 60 people will be let go.
The announcement comes weeks after State Sen. Brandon Creighton sent a warning letter about the state's expectations for higher education institutions to comply with SB 17, which banned DEI initiatives at public universities in Texas.
The Division of Campus and Community Engagement used to be DEI-related and, like similar departments, had a name change because of the new law.
Once students heard about the changes, they immediately mobilized. KVUE was told over 1,000 students met up to talk about how to stop this.
"It does hurt a lot to just really sit with the fact that they were told they would keep their jobs, and now they no longer have them," Mcafee said. "This is just [the state of] Texas ... Texas does not want us here. Texas has never wanted us here."
Mcafee said a lot of the DEI-related jobs were filled with people who look like her and students will be missing out on those connections.
"For most of us Black students, these are our only letters of recommendation," Mcafee said. "These are the only people that we can get close enough with to build a further relationship with this us."
"A lot of them were just there for me and gave me a lot of resources and were always there, when I was unsure of what to do or if I just wasn't feeling right about something," Barlow said.
The students worry certain classes will be next to go. They hope the community rallies with them by sending emails and calling the school.
RELATED: DEI ban has UT student organizations asking for help to fund educational and community events
Students were already feeling the effects of SB 17 after many diversity organizations struggled to find funding for their events.
Some who were close to graduating were told that cultural graduation ceremonies would no longer take place, with an email circulating on social media saying it was due to the DEI ban, which forced the Multicultural Engagement Center to close its doors.
However, the Texas Exes, a nonprofit alumni organization, confirmed to KVUE it will host four celebrations for Latino, Black, Asian and LGBTQ+ students in May.