Representing a positive step toward its potential implementation, a version of the diversity course requirement was approved by Faculty Council on Thursday.
Although this is by no means a final effort — the UM System Board of Curators will need to review the proposal in future meetings — we’re pleased that an initiative that’s endured years of collaboration, deliberation and stagnancy has finally broken through the layers of bureaucracy that held it back.
As it stands, the Diversity Intensive Course Requirement Proposal includes a three-credit-hour addition to core graduation requirements. The list of courses that meet the requirement, which still holds the possibility for expansion, include courses in sociology, political science and black studies, to name a few. Study abroad opportunities can also qualify for this requirement.
What these courses represent is the growth of culturally and intellectually stimulating material alongside traditional course components. These courses deepen awareness, provoke questions about our cultural and social assumptions and advance our ability to communicate. The criteria for these courses is useful both as a supplement to our individual academic endeavors, as well as to our day-to-day interactions.
For many, the addition of three hours to graduation requirements might induce sighs and questions of relevance. However, the requirement as proposed does not include newly created classes; it acts much in the same way as a humanities or writing-intensive component would.
Our need for this requirement has been advanced and supported by students and organizations for years now, and especially catalyzed by cultural issues on campus.
While the requirement is in no way intended to heal or solve systemic racism or various other “isms,” it is certainly a concrete response to the Hatch Hall graffiti and 2010’s cotton ball crime.
We understand that those in non-liberal arts fields might question the importance of the requirement, as it might seem like a diversion from already difficult course responsibilities. However, we feel the benefit of diversity-intensive classes is not exclusively beneficial to certain groups. The questions and conversations provoked by these classes are cross-cultural and relevant to anyone who considers themselves an active member in their community or society at large.
We also feel that three credit hours is an appropriate and manageable amount for the requirement. It can easily be completed by taking one course, and does not force extensive extracurricular requirements. It counts towards anyone’s general education requirements, making it a natural, integrated part of our studies, regardless of major.
Although Faculty Council has exclusively collected the list of potential diversity-intensive courses, we feel this proposal—which started at a grassroots, student level—should include more collaboration with students. We want to advocate for a venue where students can suggest additions to this course list, given their experiences in certain courses. This agency in decision-making can make the final product the result of direct student experience.
This proposal is by no means completely comprehensive, and its future date with the Board of Curators might present concerns, as they have the final say in which courses are included and which are not. However, we are optimistic that this is still a concrete way to get the ball rolling, and future amendments and adaptations can be made to modernize the proposal along with cultural changes and course requirements.
It has been a long time coming. After the collective efforts and optimism of Four Front, other minority organizations and members of the administration to propose a diversity course initiative, the proposal floated in limbo, seemingly going nowhere throughout unproductive debates. Even having the Faculty Council review the proposal was the result of two years of collective bargaining and activism.
Once the proposal got to this stage, it stalled, hitting administrative hurdles and causing disenchantment among those who desired efficient progress.
However, despite predictions otherwise, it has finally been approved by Faculty Council. This battle is certainly not over, but our need for it is crucial, and it is our job as students to address its need to the Board of Curators before and during its review of the proposal.
