UCO Employee Caught on Hidden Camera: “Technically My Whole Job Is Illegal”
October 5, 2026
Oklahoma lawmakers moved to restrict the use of taxpayer resources for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the state’s public colleges and universities. But an Accuracy in Media undercover investigation raises questions about how those restrictions are being implemented at the University of Central Oklahoma.
In May 2025, Gov. Kevin Stitt approved Senate Bill 796, which prohibits institutions within the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education from using state funds, property, or resources to support certain DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures, and programs. The law also requires institutions to review their programs for compliance.
Against that backdrop, Accuracy in Media sent an undercover journalist to the University of Central Oklahoma to find out what had actually changed on campus.
According to AIM’s undercover footage, the answer from one university employee was striking.
Shatima Bennett is listed by the University of Central Oklahoma as a Coordinator of Student Engagement within Enrollment and Student Success. University records also identify her in advisory or financial roles with several student organizations.
Speaking with an AIM undercover journalist posing as a former DEI official from another state, Bennett was asked about the status of DEI work in Oklahoma.
“We need to meet. It’s a lot,” Bennett said in the footage provided by AIM. “Welcome to Oklahoma. We are not blue.”
Then she made an even more direct statement:
“Technically my whole job is illegal if you want to be honest.”
When AIM President Adam Guillette later approached Bennett openly, according to AIM’s footage, she disputed that characterization.
“My job is not illegal,” she said before leaving the room.
According to the footage, Bennett described how student-led organizations could continue activities that university employees themselves might face restrictions on organizing.
“It hasn’t stopped because there are ways that the students are able to honor it,” Bennett said. “There are student-led organizations. That’s kind of how it’s made legal.”
She offered an example involving a Missing and Murdered Indigenous People protest.
Bennett said that because she was a state-paid staff member, she could not personally organize the protest. Instead, she said, students planned it while she advised them about logistics, helped them determine the route, made sure they understood applicable rules, and walked alongside them during the event.
That distinction is significant because SB 796 includes protections for student organizations, and UCO itself says it has more than 200 recognized student organizations through which students organize activities and events.
But Bennett’s description of her role went further.
According to AIM’s footage, she told the undercover journalist that the new restrictions had made the work more difficult rather than stopping it.
“It just made our jobs a little harder,” Bennett said. “I kind of go through loopholes for certain stuff, but it’s still happening.”
She also said:
“Nothing I’ve attempted to do has been like completely shut down. May have been halted for a second until questions were answered … but no, we’re still fully functioning.”
When the undercover journalist asked whether staff could continue this work as long as they were not officially leading it, Bennett replied:
“You just have to get creative with it. It’s a lot of creativity.”
When Guillette confronted Bennett with statements from the undercover recordings, according to AIM, Bennett did not provide a substantive on-camera explanation of what she meant by “loopholes” or “creativity.”
Another university staff member subsequently agreed to speak with Guillette only if the conversation was not recorded, AIM said.
SB 796 requires Oklahoma public higher-education institutions to review their DEI-related positions, programs and activities for compliance. Beginning July 1, 2026, institutions are also required to submit annual certifications of compliance.
Accuracy in Media is asking taxpayers to visit SaveOklahomaStudents.com where you can send one message to the leadership at University of Central Oklahoma, and all relevant elected officials. No taxpayer should be forced to fund illegal DEI programs including staff members.