‘Same principles, different name’: Washburn University staff member says DEI still active
March 4, 2026
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is apparently ongoing at Washburn University, even after state and federal laws have explicitly barred the woke ideology in higher education.
Kandy Horn, an office coordinator in the president’s office at WU, was caught admitting this on Accuracy in Media’s hidden camera.
“The office that was diversity, inclusion, and equity, it’s changed and it’s more—it’s the same principles, different name,” she divulged to AIM’s undercover investigative journalist.
She said they’ve changed the name to “belonging” to veil DEI efforts, which is a practice AIM has encountered across the country.
“You’ll find belonging at Washburn. It’s actually what it is now,” Horn said.
When AIM’s investigator asked once more whether DEI is alive and well at WU, Horn said it’s “absolutely” ongoing.
AIM President Adam Guillette then paid WU and Horn a visit, confronting her about the school’s continued DEI efforts in defiance of federal and state laws.
She reacted to her hidden camera admission, saying “Oh, gosh.”
When Guillette asked if she was the person on camera, she said yes. But when he asked if the taped statements were true, she declined to comment.
“Nobody in this office will be giving you a comment,” said another woman, who referred Guillette to contact the university’s media specialist.
It’s clear that woke DEI efforts are still underway at WU. They’re more than willing to admit it to a virtual stranger when they think it’s off the record. But once staffers like Horn are exposed publicly talking about DEI, the university relies on media experts to deflect criticism.
Last year, Kansas’s legislature banned DEI in state agencies, including public institutions of higher education.
The Kansas Board of Regents also issued a directive to public state universities to eliminate all positions, mandates, policies, programs, preferences, activities, and training relating to DEI. Employees were also required to remove pronouns from their email signatures and business cards.
Not only do WU’s continued DEI efforts violate state and Board of Regents policies, but they also go against President Trump’s executive orders banning the woke ideology from institutions that receive federal funding.
These administrators think they can keep pushing destructive ideologies like DEI if they just change what they call it. They’re so confident they won’t get caught that they even admit this, as long as they think they’re in private.
But once they’re confronted in public, they aren’t so forthcoming. This is why AIM will keep going undercover to investigate the schools defying the law to keep DEI up and running.
Go to DEIinKansas.com to send one message directly to all relevant officials. Tell them these universities shouldn’t get away with breaking the law and keeping corrosive DEI in our institutions of higher education.