University of California's New Loyalty Oath--to "Diversity"

A couple months ago I wrote about the new "diversity loyalty oaths" required of applicants to University of California campuses.  Actually, I wrote about the UC Davis math professor who argued against them.  Time for an update:

What is UC Davis hiding about its use of diversity statements?

I was curious as to exactly how many aspiring scholars had been rejected on these bases, solely because their diversity statements were deemed inadequate. But UC Davis administrators have not responded to my repeated requests for further information on the effects of these policies.

However, other University of California schools have published this information. In one recent search at UC Berkeley employing substantially similar evaluation techniques to those that UC Davis used, there were 893 qualified applicants who submitted complete applications that met the basic job requirements. Of those applicants, 679 were eliminated solely because their diversity statements were deemed inadequate.

In other words, UC Berkeley rejected 76 percent of qualified applicants without even considering their teaching skills, their publication history, their potential for academic excellence or their ability to contribute to their field.

Wokeademia

My friends (anonymous!) in the UC system report that the criteria are clear and the word is out: Don't try to be clever. Don't quote Martin Luther King, on judgement by content of character rather than color of skin. Don't write vibrant essays on the importance of ideological, political or religious diversity. Don't quote federal anti-discrimination law, the 14th Amendment, and the UC's own statements of non-discrimination in hiring. Don't write about class diversity, diverse experiences of immigrants, such as people born under communism in Eastern Europe or the amazingly diverse experience of the colleague you just hired who came from a small village in China. Don't write about the importance of freedom of speech, or anti-communist loyalty oaths in the 1950s. Are you thinking of writing about your hilbilly elegy background, your time in the military, your support for gun rights and Trump, and how this background and viewpoint would enrich a faculty and staff that likely has absolutely zero people like you? Don't bother. We all know what "diversity" means. And, heaven forbid, don't express distaste for the project. The staff are on to all these tricks, and each of these specifically will earn you a downgrade. For an example of what not to do, see UCLA Professor Stephen Bainbridge's (UCLA law) posted diversity statement. Let's see if he gets that raise.

UC Santa Cruz tosses qualified candidates in first stage of hiring: not diverse enough

The University of California-Santa Cruz and the UC Office of the President are giving The College Fix the runaround when it comes to answering questions about UCSC’s faculty diversity pilot program.

UCSC and UCOP each directed The Fix to the other, and when informed of the other’s response, they either refused to comment or didn’t respond.

Anyone see any problems? Or even the potential for problems, for abuse?