What amazes me is that anyone, even in Colorado, thought they could get away with this:
The University of Colorado at Boulder announced yesterday that it no longer would restrict an education course to minority and first-generation college students after receiving complaints that the restrictions violated equal-protection laws. Educators had limited fall enrollment for the Friday section of "School and Society" to "students of color" and first-generation college students, saying the restriction offered "a much safer and open environment" in which to discuss issues of race, class and the sexes.
Now, imagine a situation in which professors decided to limit enrollment in a course to white students only, or men only, with the argument being that it would be much "safer" for students to discuss race relations, or sexism. Can you imagine such a scenario not being immediately followed by protests, marches, activists descending upon the president's office?
Didn't think so. Yet the clueless UC educators, though they've given in, seem amazed that anyone thought to complain:
After three students threatened last week to take the university to court, however, Lorrie Shepard, dean of the School of Education, issued a "clarification" stating that the course would be open to all students, although "underrepresented" students were specifically encouraged to enroll.
"It is the intention of the School of Education to recruit students of color and first-generation college students to participate in a special section of [the course] for the purpose of creating a critical mass of such students," said Lorrie Shepard, dean of the School of Education.
And how wonderful they must feel to know that educators do not expect them to be able to hold their own in a classroom with others of different races; nay, they must be shepherded into this "critical mass" of safe space and protected from those evil, um, non-minorities and legacy students, who are obviously incapable of discussing touchy issues in a respectful way. Doesn't sound like UC thinks much of any of its students.
"School and Society" is mandatory for education majors, but the course is also popular among non-majors because it fulfills the university's general graduation requirement for "culture and gender diversity." In her statement, Miss Shepard continued to stress the importance of creating a classroom environment welcoming to "students of diverse backgrounds."
"Having a critical mass of first-generation and minority students in a class or group helps avoid the sense of isolation described by many students in these groups," she said. "We hope that students of diverse backgrounds who choose this opportunity can engage the intellectual material of this course without distraction."
I suppose it would be wicked to point out the irony in UC's demanding that students take a "culture and gender diversity" class, and then offering a class which is so deliberately undiverse. And wicked, too, to wonder about Ms. Sheperd's theory that the way to help minority students feel less isolated is to, um, isolate them from the rest of the student body.
(Of course, John of Discriminations already covered this, but I figured it was worth ridiculing once again.)
Posted by kswygert at August 12, 2004 10:30 PM