Incoming students at the University of Minnesota are being introduced to lessons on identity politics that characterize the Declaration of Independence as embodying “sexist policies,” according to a scoop from Libs of TikTok.
The material appears in an onboarding module for new students. One section asks students to consider whether they knew that the Declaration of Independence “embodied sexist policies by excluding women in both its language and policies.”
The module then reproduces the familiar passage declaring, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” but alters the text by adding the words “and women” in purple immediately after “men.”
The university’s orientation material also includes what it calls “identity knowledge checks,” according to screenshots published by Libs of TikTok. Students are asked to connect terms with their corresponding definitions, including concepts involving race, nationalism and sexuality.
Another portion of the material addresses gender identity, defining it as something distinct from a person’s sex assigned at birth. It describes gender identity as an individual’s “own, internal, personal sense of self expression” and states that it can include identifying as male, female or non-binary.
Libs of TikTok criticized the material in a post accompanying the screenshots, writing, “They also push radical gender ideology while conducting ‘identity knowledge checks.’ This university is a far-left indoctrination camp. They should be investigated and defunded.”
The reported onboarding material comes as the University of Minnesota faces significant financial pressures. The university plans to cut approximately $225 millionfrom its budget over the next two years amid declining enrollment and rising costs.
The financial challenges facing Minnesota are part of a broader shift affecting higher education, as colleges across the country have confronted enrollment declines and changing decisions among young Americans about whether to pursue traditional four-year degrees.
At the same time, the university cuts come amid a broader push by the Trump administration to challenge diversity, equity and inclusion programs at colleges and universities nationwide.
