In its final stages of becoming an official policy, the proposal
for a diversity requirement was rejected as faculty members of the
UCLA College voted against it.
Already existing at the other eight University of California
undergraduate campuses, the proposal at UCLA called for students to
take one course as part of their existing general education
requirements in any of the three foundation areas that address
issues within diversity.
Voter turnout was “somewhat low” as only 249 faculty
members voted out of 1,262 eligible voters, said Robin Garrell,
chairwoman of the Faculty Executive Committee of the UCLA College.
The decision of the faculty vote was confirmed Dec. 19.
One hundred and eight faculty members voted in favor of the
requirement while 141 opposed it, showing that members were not
completely pleased with the current proposal.
Student leaders, who have been working in collaboration with
faculty for several years now to implement such a requirement
expressed their concerns.
“I’m disappointed in the fact that only 249 faculty
voted and other faculty members were lobbying against it,”
said Eligio Martinez, academic affairs commissioner for the
Undergraduate Students Association Council.
USAC President Allende Palmo/Saracho said the result of the vote
was completely “shocking,” as members involved in
implementing the proposal looked at this year as solely going
through the last few “hoops,” he said.
“Last year we thought we had finally found a resolution.
… We got support from the faculty,” Palmo/Saracho said.
Baffled as to why the requirement ““ now in its 17th year
of activists trying to get it implemented ““ did not pass the
vote, Martinez expressed his dissatisfaction.
“It just doesn’t make sense. It comes down to what
the faculty considers a valuable education, (and) they don’t
think a diversity requirement is important,” he said.
Garrell said some faculty members had several concerns with the
current proposal.
One concern is that the existing GE curriculum encompasses a
large collection of diversity-related courses which students
already take, Garrell said. Other faculty members believe the
proposal is overly broad and vague in its current state, Garrell
also said.
In conjunction with Professor Raymond Knapp, head of the GE
governance committee, student leaders plan to submit a revised
proposal that they hope to be put to a vote at the end of winter
quarter, and will strive to have some form of a diversity
requirement implemented by fall 2005, Martinez said.
“(We want) to show the faculty and Academic Senate that
this is a solid, well thought-out proposal that is needed at
UCLA,” Palmo/Saracho said.
The faculty members of the School of Arts and Architecture and
the School of Theatre, Film and Television and the Henry Samueli
School of Engineering and Applied Science have yet to vote for the
implementation of the requirement in their schools.
Their proposals are parallel to those of the UCLA College.