The University of Iowa graduate workers student union claims the “quality and integrity of education” is at stake as the school investigates alleged DEI practices.
Nearly a week after two University of Iowa staffers were placed on administrative leave over a pair of “undercover” videos about allegedly skirting Iowa’s DEI laws, COGS UE Local 896 released a statement condemning the UI and President Barbara Wilson’s response.
“We, the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS), strongly condemn these actions by President Wilson and the University. They demonstrate a total capitulation to Governor Reynolds and the Trump administration at the expense of the quality and integrity of the education offered by the University of Iowa,” COGS said in the statement. “This compliance with right-wing efforts to suppress civil rights and academic freedom, and deny basic principles of equal access to education, is a betrayal of our campus community and the values we hold as Iowa’s oldest and largest public university.”
UI student union claims state, school are ‘censoring’ faculty, students
Senate File 2435, which took effect July 1, prohibits Iowa’s three public universities from maintaining or funding DEI offices and prevents the schools from creating new offices. The law also states that the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, cannot hire anyone to conduct the duties of a DEI office or require anyone to submit a DEI statement.
“We are alarmed by the use of government power in an attempt to censor such speech, and hereby call on President Wilson to protect students, faculty, and staff from interference in our university by the Reynolds and Trump administrations,” COGS said in its statement.
The student union’s response arrived six days after University of Iowa President Wilson sent out a campus-wide message noting that the University of Iowa “has been working diligently to comply with directives.”
“As you may be aware, videos have surfaced that raise concerns regarding compliance with university policies and applicable laws,” Wilson said in the statement. “I want to assure you that the university takes these concerns with the utmost seriousness.”
Union says ‘undercover’ videos violate UI policy
COGS emphasized that recording academic activities without permission violates UI policy, citing Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost’s “University Course Policies and Resources for Students.” The policy, the union said, includes unauthorized video or audio recording of academic activities, including lectures, course discussions, and office hours of both instructors and teaching assistants.
“Students with a reasonable accommodation for recording approved by Student Disability Services should notify each instructor and provide the Letter of Accommodation prior to using the accommodation…” according to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost policy.
The policy says classroom recordings must “must be for personal academic use only.”
“The distribution, sharing, sale, or posting of recordings on the internet (including social media), in whole or in part, is prohibited and doing so may be a violation of the Code of Student Life and/or state or federal privacy, copyright, or other laws,” according to UI policy.
An “undercover” video published by Fox News appears to take place in Drea Tinoco’s office, the Assistant Director of Leadership and Student Organization Development. A second video, which was published on Townhall, appears to be a discussion with Cory Lockwood, senior associate director of the Iowa Memorial Union. It is unclear in the 35-second clip where Lockwood is holding the conversation about the school’s DEI practices.
Why two UI staffers were placed on leave
The pair of “undercover” videos were released on Tuesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 31, respectively.
The video of Tinoco, which runs for nearly four minutes, shows her explaining to the unknown person recording that the UI’s websites were redone to remove DEI terms, per the regents’ instructions. Tinoco is telling the person that the university is finding ways to operate around the restrictions, through using words like “civic engagement.”
Lockwood is filmed responding to DEI-related questions from an unidentified person in the second video.
“You won’t find it by Googling it, because of our state legislature. (State government) directed the (Iowa) Board of Regents to — I don’t know if eliminate is the right word, but stop using the words [DEI].” Lockwood said in the video. “So you’ll see words like community, belonging. There’s DEI work happening. Somebody’s not going to have that in their job description because of the state house.”
Tinoco was placed on leave on Tuesday, July 29. Lockwood was placed on leave on Thursday, July 31, according to a University of Iowa spokesperson.
The University of Iowa has launched an internal investigation of Tinoco. The university did not specify whether it will investigate Lockwood.
Reynolds submits DEI complaint to attorney general
Gov. Reynolds said she submitted the Fox News video to Iowa’s attorney general for “review as it relates to Iowa’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Act.”
“I’m appalled by the remarks made in this video by a University of Iowa employee who blatantly admits to defying DEI restrictions I signed into law on May 9, 2024,” Reynolds said in a news release. “I already issued a letter to the Board of Regents on January 23, 2025, reminding university representatives to comply, not only with state law, but an executive order signed by President Trump ending implementation of DEI policies at public institutions. I will be referring this matter to Attorney General Brenna Bird for her review.”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird swiftly responded to the govenor’s complaint, noting that “Regent universities must comply with our state laws.” She referenced violations of the Iowa Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) Act, Iowa Code Chapter 19, and an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 22, 2025.
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: UI grad union ‘condemns’ school’s DEI investigation, cites unauthorized recording policy
Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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