After the racially-charged incidents recently experienced on several University of California campuses this year, steps are being taken to improve and sustain a tolerant environment across the system.
At the first meeting of the UC Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion on June 30, the 18-member group discussed structural changes that could improve both short- and long-term campus climates.
Although there were no concrete initiatives developed, the council made plans to first analyze the environment of each of the 10 UC campuses and then use that information to make changes, said Jesse Bernal, UC interim university diversity coordinator.
“Some of the campuses talked about making steps to do campus climate surveys to understand what the students really feel, to get a sense of what they think would be helpful in terms of improving climate,” said Tyrone Howard, a UCLA assistant professor of education who is a member of the council.
In terms of the upcoming year, Howard said it is not clear yet what the racial atmosphere will be, because issues that exist on the UC campuses are structural and deep-rooted. Therefore, the changes needed to create such inclusive environments will take several months, or even years, to come to fruition.
“I think what is happening at the UCs is a reflection of what is going on in society, and these challenges are going to be something we face for the long haul,” Bernal said. “As far as making improvements in terms of ensuring that students feel more comfortable, more included “¦ it is definitely within the realm of possibility.”
Among the changes Howard hopes to see are modifications to the admissions process and a more diverse faculty.
“I think when there are certain groups that are severely underrepresented, it sends a message that they are marginalized, so universities need to look at their admissions policies in terms of diverse groups,” he said.
Even with these concerns, UC San Diego, whose minority admissions were expected to be hurt after the controversial “Compton Cookout,” recently reported a 23 percent increase in underrepresented enrolled students for fall 2010. While 68 black students are expected to attend the university, up from 50 the previous year, they still only comprise two percent of the student population.
“Even with the 23 percent increase of underrepresented students at a school like UC San Diego, my hunch is that they are not anywhere close to where they should be in terms of at least African American and Latino students, as well as the Native American numbers,” Howard said. “The idea has got to be how do you build and sustain the momentum so that you can continue to see those numbers increase, so that at the very least you have a fair representation of students that are in those communities.”
With help from campus councils, which are chaired by each university’s chancellor, the advisory group will look at issues of this nature when assessing what measures need to be taken to create tolerant climates.
“Most of the work will be done on campuses, through the campus councils. They are at a better place to assess campus climate, to reflect what progress needs to be made,” Bernal said. “The advisory council will oversee and guide the campuses through some of the challenges as we make progress in this area.”