US: Chicago students call for ‘inclusion and diversity’ as graduate requirement

02 Feb 2018

A coalition of student societies at University of Chicago is petitioning to have the school make an ‘inclusion and diversity’ class compulsory for graduation, in an effort to change campus culture.

The coalition, called the UChicago United, claims this is because the university “has consistently failed to meet the needs of its marginalized students”.

As such, the group said it is “taking action to build accessible campus resources and measures of accountability to support the creation of an environment that minority students are able to lay claim to as their own.” It put together a total 51 requests in a petition endorsed by seven student organizations, reported Campus Reform.

University of Chicago Leftists demand graduation requirement of 'diversity and inclusion' classes https://t.co/1tKf6xEfF9

— mathewsjw (@mathewsjw) February 2, 2018

The inclusion and diversity class would start with the class of 2022 and be primarily focused on US-centric structural oppression, such as race, gender, and sexuality.

Other appeals include a university-funded “Black House”, “Latinx House” and “Asian House” independent of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, the creation of a “Race and Ethnic Studies Department,” and the hiring of “more faculty of color.”

The document also advocates for a “pre-orientation program specifically for incoming students of color,” and “a revitalization of the Bias Response Team” that would involve “marginalized student representation.”

In a section devoted to requests from the Organization of Black Students, students ask for an “opt-in Black Housing Option for Black students in College Housing”, and mandatory housing-staff training for instances of “racial bias, discrimination, or prejudice.”

The PanAsia Solidarity Coalition proposes “a counselor specifically for racial counseling,” while MEChA de UChicago asks that the university “pursue disciplinary actions towards all individuals guilty of racist, hateful, and discriminatory conduct.”

More than 180 students had signed their names in support of the demands.