“We fought like crazy to get women’s rights,” said Sharon Utter”

Grassroots protesters from the Wheatland area picketed at the roadway entrances of the Vimbo’s on Wednesday evening, the scheduled location of a meeting in which University of Wyoming president, Dr. Edward Seidel, was attending.

Nine residents showed up in 40-degree temperatures and sleet and rain to hold picket signs protesting Diversion Equity and Inclusion policies. “We are very opposed to DEI,” Roy Birt, one of the protest organizers said. “We want people to be selected for positions and promotions based on merit and skills, not how you ‘identify.’ Marriage is what should be recognized.”

Another protestor, Sharon Utter, said one reason she is protesting is because she remembers how hard and for how many years women, including herself, fought for women’s rights to have their own sports teams and good paying jobs. “We fought like crazy to get women’s rights,” she said, explaining she does not like the way men who identify as women are taking over women’s sports and ruining opportunities for actual women.

“The Legislature cut out DEI funding for UW (during the budget session), the president of the university said he’d look for a way to cover it, then the governor gave him the money after a few days,” Birt said.

Seidel stepped into the stormy conditions to speak with protestors and invite them inside to talk, but Birt said the meeting did not seem to be the right venue to do that at the time. (It wasn’t a town hall-type of public comment event, rather, there was a presentation among UW alumni, its associates and guests highlighting the successes of UW’s education and outreach efforts locally and regionally.)

Birt said he decided to organize the protest when he received a flyer advertising the event, thinking it would be a good opportunity to show President Seidel there were unhappy people throughout Wyoming with the DEI policies being paid for by tax dollars.

In addition to the DEI issue, Birt said he is concerned UW is not transparent enough with their funding, citing as an example the ending of geographical department funding a few years ago, to which his wife had been a contributor. “Where did that money go when they cancelled that program? It has a very practical use in engineering and mining,” Birt said, adding he still hasn’t received any answers on that accounting question.

“They need to face it, people are not happy with what is happening at UW, and it’s not a recent thing – it’s been building for years,” he concluded.