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Proposed
Initiatives that Emerged from the Campus Climate Working Group
Workshop / December
9, 1999
- Read the minutes from
the November
17 meeting
Proposals centered on five broad categories:
- Multicultural studies
- Certificate Programs
- Training for Students/Staff/Faculty
- Diversity Communication/CCWG Web page
- Guerilla Theater
Multicultural Studies
Suggestions for a multicultural
course requirement.
- Make it part of Latin Honors requirement
- Have some form of multicultural course
a requirement for every major
- Make a multicultural course a requirement
for graduation: on par with writing intensive course requirement
- Student poll on definition of multicultural
requirement
(Suggestions for faculty initiatives)
- Advisers should encourage students
to take courses dealing with multiculturalism -- particularly
those who would not ordinarily do so (e.g.: science or math majors)
- Should be part of faculty development
to address multiculturalism in every course
- Consider interracial dialogues in
classroom -- e.g.: course in WST taught jointly by Vicki Spelman
and Ann Ferguson
- First-year dean and the Ada director
can encourage students and advisers to take a course addressing
multicultural issues
Certificate Programs
- UMass currently offers certificate
program in Native American Studies. Smith should either recognize
certificate or offer own certificate in similar program.
- Offer new certificates in: Asian,
multicultural studies, and Latin American studies addressing
U.S. Latin American issues
Training For Students/Staff/Faculty
- Develop training unit on multiculturalism
for all Praxis internships
- Recruit students/staff/faculty to
train in non-combative mediation (e.g.: certificate offered
by HR -- Jan/Feb: cross-cultural mediation)
- Dialogues in houses to promote more
inclusive environment
- Find out level of discussion, if any,
taking place in houses currently
- Take advantage of student houses,
which are seen as "comfortable space," to initiate
discussion of issues
- Important for students to be open
to educating peers on multicultural issues -- opens up and expands
dialogue
- Publicize events with enough advance
time for students to "clear space" to attend
Faculty
- Multicultural training component for
incoming faculty to aid them in bringing issues into classroom
- Use "Target of Opportunity"
positions for proposed individuals who teach multicultural studies
- Disseminate information on multicultural
issues
- Administration make available statistics
on race/ethnicity
- Faculty awareness of events to "clear
space" around students' academic work, facilitating attendance
Diversity Communication/CCWG Web
Page
- Include on Web page all courses with
multicultural component
- Suggestions for Campus Climate Web
page: colors, images etc to promote diversity; people's stories
how they perceive Smith. Different voices and faces to
personalize diversity issues on Web page
- Include multicultural component in
faculty evaluations
- Design button, which recognizes complexity
of issues. HCs & HRs looking into designs for buttons --
e.g.: button with "PC" and a line through it, underneath
a possible slogan that says "Smith, a campus that encourages
conversation/dialogue," or button with smiley face &
slogan "I know there's a problem but we share it."
- Map showing locations and names of
offices that have information/brochures on multicultural issues
and statistics on race/ethnicity -- e.g.: admissions
- Reenact need-blind admission to Smith
- Make it known that Smith, in fact,
has more students receiving financial aid than some need-blind
institutions
Guerilla Theater
As follow-up to suggestions
of isolation due to racism at Smith, and reluctance to speak
out on highly charged issues a group decided to take the debate
into public places in the form of Guerilla theater. The first
meeting to discuss methods is proposed for the beginning of February.
See Jerry Sachs for further information (7973)
(Notes compiled by Pat D'Arienzo
Ext. 3090)
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