Some students are optimistic that a new diversity requirement will help them understand different cultures, if professors follow through by developing a comprehensive curriculum.
“UCLA is a diverse university because of the makeup of the students, but that doesn’t mean everyone is aware of it,” said Evelyn Tran, a fourth-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student. “I hope now that the diversity requirement passed, there will be less appropriation of culture, less hate crimes and that people will take into account other people’s backgrounds.”
Faculty members approved the diversity requirement proposal for the College of Letters and Science with a 332-303 vote on Friday. Before it becomes official, the proposal must first be approved by the Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction, the Undergraduate Students Association Council and the Legislative Assembly.
If the proposal is implemented, incoming students will be required to take a course about inequalities between different groups of people through different frames, including race, gender, socioeconomic status and other factors. The requirement could be filled through a general education, elective or upper division course.
Jazz Kiang, a third-year Asian American studies student who helped draft the proposal and campaign for the requirement, said he thinks the vote was a tremendous victory for UCLA compared to previous years.
In 2012, only 30 percent of eligible faculty members voted for a similar diversity requirement proposal, as opposed to the about 46 percent who voted throughout last week.
“I feel wonderful that it passed, especially as a student who sat on the committee and helped draft the proposal and campaign the entire way. It feels good to know that we finally made a statement,” said Kiang, director of the UCLA Asian Pacific Coalition.
Though several students said they are excited about the diversity requirement, they said they think it is not a perfect solution to fighting prejudice on campus.
Allyson Bach, USAC Academic Affairs commissioner, said she thinks the success of the requirement will rely on the commitment of faculty to develop a variety of courses as time goes on.
“We have to really look at criteria and choose meaningful curriculum based on what the proposal is trying to achieve,” she said.
Bach, who was involved in lobbying and campaigning efforts for the diversity requirement, said she thinks she saw an increase in student support compared to when she helped advocate for the 2012 proposal.
“The increase in voters isn’t because faculty members weren’t interested before, it was the lack of knowledge about the proposal and the lack of student engagement,” she said.
M. Belinda Tucker, vice provost of the Institute of American Cultures and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, was co-chair of the College Diversity Initiative Committee and helped organize the proposal. Tucker said she thinks the proposal was successful because it was better organized and promoted by leaders across campus.
“I am ecstatic that the diversity requirement passed. I’m pleased that almost twice the amount of faculty voted this time and I hope the remaining committees will endorse and approve it,” she said. “We have accomplished the biggest hurdle, but there is one remaining big step.
Abel Valenzuela Jr., chair of the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o Studies, said he has voted in support of a diversity requirement in previous years.
“A lot of research and data suggests that when you have these sorts of courses offered to students, campus climate improves, so I expect that UCLA’s campus climate will improve as a result of this diversity requirement,” Valenzuela said.
Last week, the diversity requirement proposal met opposition from six professors, including anthropology professor Joseph Manson, astronomy professor Matthew Malkan, French literature professor Eric Gans, professor emeritus of English Jascha Kessler and political science professors Thomas Schwartz and Marc Trachtenberg.
The professors released an email statement to faculty members that said the studies used to support the proposal are irrelevant and that the proposal is not a strong way to achieve diversity. They said that they think the proposal would burden students struggling to graduate in time, according to the statement.
Kessler said he opposes the proposal because he thinks many students, especially those with science majors, already have so many requirements, and the diversity requirement would make it difficult for them to graduate in four years. He added that he thinks faculty were not well-informed about the arguments made against the proposal.
“Diversity is not something you can teach in a class. America has always been a collection of immigrants. The problems between groups are problems of assimilation and we don’t need to teach students that in a classroom. They learn about diversity in their everyday life,” Kessler said.
Still, some students said they think sensitivity and cultural understanding should be explored in UCLA classrooms.
Carlos Ipuz-Rengifo, a second-year global studies student, said he thinks the diversity requirement would allow students to become educated about different cultures.
“I think it will encourage conversation about issues that are not discussed actively,” he said. “This causes the main problem of normalizing intolerance and I think the diversity requirement will help overcome that.”
Contributing reports by Shreya Maskara, Bruin contributor.