‘My whole job is illegal’: On hidden camera, UCO employee says DEI continues despite ban– www.thecollegefix.com

Hidden-camera footage of a University of Central Oklahoma employee discussing how  diversity, equity and inclusion activities continue at the school despite a state law restricting it has prompted questions and concerns.

The conservative activism group Accuracy in Media on Oct. 5 published a four-minute edited video showing employee Shatima Bennett telling an undercover investigator for the group that she assists with DEI programming by allowing the students to organize the efforts.

“Technically my whole job is illegal if you want to be honest,” Bennett said in a conversational  manner.

She said the law “just made our jobs a little harder.” She is referring to Senate Bill 796, approved in 2025, which eliminated public funding for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities.

But DEI “hasn’t stopped because there are ways that the students are able to honor it,” Bennett said in the video. “These are student-led organizations. That’s kind of how it’s made legal.”