By Alexis Drutchas
the daily cardinal
UW-Madison is a nationally renowned institution of higher education, well known for its research, outstanding faculty and beautiful campus.
However, one thing that usually slips through the cracks in UW-Madison recruiting measures is the severe problem the university has with the retention of students of color. In trying to increase the level of diversity on campus, UW-Madison—like many state schools—falls short in graduating minority students.
Research has shown that students of color leave the university due to campus climate. Thus, research serves as evidence of racial problems on a predominantly white campus.
Prior to diversity initiatives, students of color were solely concerned and targeted as the agents for change.
Nowadays social agendas such as Plan 2008 have expanded to address the burdens of counseling and academic services as well as the UW-Madison student population in its entirety.
I attended a day-long Plan 2008 session this past semester. The day was jam-packed: Provost Patrick Farell and Chancellor John Wiley spoke about diversity; there were performances as well as breakout sessions concerning various issues of campus climate. Yet, after missing all of my classes to learn more about this important issue, I couldn't help but leave feeling more frustrated than informed.
Plan 2008 looks wonderful on campus, advocating an increase in enrollment of minority students and faculty and increased financial aid, just to name a few.
These are tremendous goals; however, how does Plan 2008 propose to actually reach these goals? What is this plan working toward? What is diversity? What does promoting ""respect for racial and ethnic diversity"" really mean?
I do not believe what the diversity Plan 2008 is looking for can be found through performances or lecture forums. Plan 2008 needs to be about more than just diversity. It needs to not only be about bringing people of different races together, but also individuals of a different gender, sexuality, class and so on. It cannot just be about ""diversifying"" the UW campus in order to maintain a status quo or look progressive.
Yes, we should learn from each other's differences and recognize the beauty in the diverse spectrums we bring to this campus. However, this is a very different issue from the inequalities that exist at UW-Madison.
Plan 2008 needs to be about more because, as the retention rates of students of color show, simply bringing a diverse group of students together is not enough—it does not create a climate of comfort in which everyone has the same ability to succeed.
Instead, Plan 2008 needs to venture beyond diversity and seek values of social justice—to reach a point where one's ethnicity does not influence their ability to succeed, their opportunities or the level of comfort they feel in expressing themselves.
How do we strive for this notion of social justice on campus? While it is important to facilitate dialogue, I do not believe campus programs that foster this are enough because they are not solution-based. They do not necessarily address the fundamental issues of how we can change institutionally ingrained ideas of power and privilege, of homophobia and disability.
Plan 2008 seems to place this responsibility for change on the faculty and their curriculum. As students we speak of ideals of equalityA-—shouldn't the responsibility to enact this change be ours, to create the world that we want for our futures by starting right here on our own campus?
Do we have the ability to follow through, or are we as apathetic as we seem, discussing philosophies behind desks? Yet, when given the chance as we are today to create actual change, are we just going to fall short of inspiration?
