UCLA faculty with appointments in the College of Letters and Science are voting this week on a proposed Diversity Requirement for undergraduate students in the College. The vote is open between October 24th and October 31st.
The Academic Senate has an extensive informational site (votediversity.ucla.edu) that includes documentation on the requirement, a frequently asked questions section, and a forum for faculty to share information and views on the requirement. The forum includes six separate faculty statements in support of the requirement, and one statement in opposition. An additional statement in support circulating on Wednesday has garnered about 80 co-signers.
The proposal envisions undergraduates taking one 4-unit course that “substantially focuses on diversity issues” and “takes seriously issues of diversity with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, language, nationality, citizenship status and/or place of origin.” Courses would be approved by a Senate committee appointed by the Undergraduate Council, could be offered from any university department, and could include community and service learning as well as traditional courses.
The vote is open until October 31st, 2014. Past efforts have seen very low turnout, so be sure to vote if you are in the College of Letters and Sciences!