Comment from CAITLIN WITT

[200.300, 200.218] To Whom it May Concern: I am an assistant professor in physics and astronomy. I am writing in my personal capacity to oppose the proposed revisions to sections 200.300 and 200.218 that would impede STEM recruitment and retention initiatives and restrict certain research fields vital to broadening participation in STEM. We work hard to welcome new people to participate in our science. However, to do so, we must be able to reach out to them directly and meet on common ground. How we do this must be different for different groups, the underlying guiding principle of equity. If we cannot use methods deemed "DEI", we will miss out on inviting new people into our field. Our grants for the NANOGrav physics frontier center include funding for "DEI" committee work and outreach, which could be banned under current rules likes Section 200.206 or 200.300. Without this grant, we cannot support the students and postdocs that rely on it for their salaries. I'm very concerned about these rules for our domestic STEM workforce, because without efforts to reach out to new communities and help make our field welcoming for them, we will not be able to make our science as good as it can be by bringing in new ideas and perspectives.