UCLA still lacks requirements for diversity studies

Wednesday, November 25, 1998

UCLA still lacks requirements for diversity studies

CULTURES: Universities nationwide teach classes on variety of
perspectives

By Joy McMasters

Daily Bruin Contributor

In recent years, some colleges and universities have expanded
general education programs to include diversity requirements.

UCLA, however, has no such requirements, though the cry of "We
are diverse" rings from every corner of campus, and the desire to
remain diverse can often be read on campus walkways.

Two years ago, Max Espinoza spearheaded an effort to institute
diversity requirements when he was Academic Affairs
Commissioner.

"We’re the only UC that doesn’t have an ethnic studies or
diversity requirement," said Espinoza, who is presently the UC
student regent.

"That means that the other campuses see a value in having a
requirement that prepares students for leadership in a
multicultural society," he continued.

Henry Perez, chair of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana y
Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), agreed.

"A curriculum that includes diversity is reflective of UCLA, one
of the most diverse campuses in the nation," Perez said.

"It allows people to learn about and recognize the culture and
struggles of other ethnic communities," he added.

According to a survey by the Ford Foundation, 75 percent of the
2,011 voters polled agree that "efforts to have a more diverse
student body on college campuses" have had a positive effect.

Half of those surveyed define diversity as "different ethnicity,
race, nationality or culture" from their own.

Other universities have developed and implemented standards that
include courses with an ethnic focus in their general education
requirements.

Pennsylvania State University first implemented diversity
requirements in 1990 at the insistence of both the students and
businesses hiring these students out of college. Employers wanted a
work force that was culturally aware of those it would be working
with, said Harriett Gaston, undergraduate academic counselor.

This program was revised in 1994, so that courses also fulfill
requirement areas such as general education (GE) and major.

For example, a course on the history of the Balkans could
emphasize diversity and ethnicity, and would therefore fulfill both
diversity and GE requirements.

Experiential learning activities such as studying abroad also
may fulfill the requirement, according to Penn State’s online
catalog.

Such courses increase students’ knowledge of the world around
them by teaching them about race, ethnicity, religion, gender,
sexual orientation or other people’s perspectives, according to
Penn State’s website.

Eighty percent of those surveyed also believe that preparing
students to succeed in a diverse world is as important as teaching
technical and academic skills.

Though voters surveyed supported optional diversity programs
over actual requirements, none offered a concrete plan of how to
teach diversity.

At UCLA only a small percentage of course enrollments each
quarter are in religious, ethnic and gender studies courses.

This quarter, according to UCLA’s online schedule of classes,
there were about 2,300 enrollments in these courses – less than 3
percent of all enrollments.

Espinoza said that the UCLA administration has been reluctant to
support a diversity requirement because of the costs such a change
would incur.

"Having a diversity requirement would mean providing additional
resources to those areas that focus on ethnic and diversity
issues," he said.

"The university has not, in the past, been prepared to make that
kind of commitment."

Though enrollments in cultural studies courses are low, some
UCLA students support diversity requirements.

"It is important that we not only know the culture we live in,
but the culture that we come from, our identity," said Thomas Rau,
second-year physiological sciences student and an officer of the
Association of Chinese Americans.

"When we know where we come from, we know ourselves better," he
added.

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