AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – It has been nearly a month since SB-129 officially took effect, raising many nuanced concerns surrounding Auburn University’s enrollment and scholarship allocation practices. Student Government Association at Auburn University held a Campus Roundtable on Sept. 30 for administrators to discuss the elimination of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office with concerned students and faculty, in compliance with the bill.
Although a promise to uphold the Auburn mission was enforced during the Campus Roundtable, students still have questions. A common question is, “How will this bill influence enrollment and scholarship allocation diversity?”
A section in SB-129 says, “This bill will prohibit certain public entities from conditioning enrollment or attendance in certain classes or trainings on the basis of race or color,” placing upcoming scholarship disbursement and enrollment on the forefront.
Joffery Gaymon, Vice President for Enrollment at Auburn University, assures that the SB-129 bill does not apply to university admissions or enrollment at higher education institutions.
“[Instead], it focuses on the parameters around DEI training requirements within universities, specifically ensuring that participation in such programs cannot be conditioned on race or color,” Gaymon said.
For additional context, federal regulations already prohibited the use of race in admissions and scholarship awards before the passing of SB-129. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2023 also banned the consideration of race in admissions practices across the country.
The same rule also applies to scholarships, and according to Gaymon, Auburn University has never used race as a criterion in its admissions or scholarship decisions. According to Gaymon, the university actually takes a “holistic approach” by considering factors
like academic background, GPA and the rigor of a transcript.
With scholarship and college applications opening up, these concerns are reasonable given the bill’s effect on Auburn and the world. Gaymon expresses that no matter the circumstances, Auburn will strive to uphold its mission to all students, faculty and staff.
