Lack of diversity is a
democratic failure in many ways as we have seen in the previous 2-blog posts.
Lack of diversity affects each student differently, and there are many
different feelings and emotions behind the fact that the university has very
little diversity. How do you solve a problem that affects so many people
differently and infiltrates itself into every facet of university life? From
the administration to school buildings to student interactions, having oppression prevalent
on campus hurts everyone and breeds ill will, how can that be rectified?
The start to solving the
problem of lack of diversity is talking, educating everyone on WHY diversity is
needed. As addressed in my first 2 blog posts, it is necessary to stop
oppression and make everyone feel included. Yet, if no one understands why diversity
is important, there will be no push for it.
This education needs to come
from small group talks, where information is presented and the students, the
ones that are directly affected, can talk and discuss the best option on equal
terms. This idea is described in Christopher F. Karpowitz et al. Deliberative
Democracy and Inequality: Two Cheers for Enclave Deliberation Among the
Disempowered. “Enclave deliberation can thus serve the larger cause of
a fully inclusive public discourse by giving disempowered or marginalized
groups an opportunity to develop their own unique perspectives and arguments,
which might otherwise be overlooked or ignored.” (Karpowitz et al., 2009) The
ones being marginalized and oppressed, those who are the minorities currently on
campus, need to be heard and taken seriously.
The only way these enclaves are
going to be effective is if they are taken as advisory, if the minority
students are able to advise the university in their experiences with the lack
of diversity in the school. Students have started this when they protested
for changes they wanted, but now I am proposing,
instead of the need to protest, the same ideas being delivered in these
enclaves. “Perhaps the most important factor that may influence the quality of
enclave deliberation is how empowered these forums are in relation to
government and other institutions. The spectrum ranges from simply educating
community members to playing a one-time advisory relationship to officials and
activists.” (Karpowitz et al., 2009) Michael, a student that identifies as a
man of color stated, “They [the administration] need to listen to student
experience. If they listen to that, and change that, then they can fix the problem.”
It is realistic to actively listen to the students and understand and
accommodate their requests. There is a student body that I think has been
failed, and students have been failed, and enclaves are the best way to fix
this.
The one downside with enclaves,
and why if they work, it would have to be in a university setting like
Michigan’s, is because, those in charge do not have to listen. They can choose
to ignore the advice given, but happily, the university has not done this. They
have initiated diversity summits, “Everyone in the U-M community
is asked to share visions of where the university needs to go on diversity,
equity and inclusion — and how it gets there, Sellers says.” (Brown, 2015)
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| Student Life, Campus Information, University of Michigan |
This is a step in the right
direction, the first formation of enclaves. However, a solution may not come
after simply one meeting, or after just one year, but many meetings and many
years, with many different students getting involved to give input can overall
lead to a more inclusive and student experience based university. This is not a
permanent solution, but a start. Students have a voice, they were listened to
about Trotter, they were listened to about a new athletic director, and they should be listened to
about changing the environment and lack of diversity in their campus
community. Luckily, we are seeing this begin to happen, the question is,
will it last?
Brown, Kevin. “Diversity Summit Public Meetings
open yearlong campus initiative.” The University Record. October
30, 2015. Web.
Karpowtiz, Christopher F. Raphael, Chad. And
Hammond, Allen S., IV.
“Deliberative Democracy and Inequality: Two
Cheers for Enclave Deliberation among the Disempowered.” Politics &
Society, SAGE, 2009. 37(4)- 576-615.
"Muslim hate graffiti discovered at
University of Michigan Campus". The Arab American News. March
30, 2016. Web.
http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/news/id_12005/Muslim-hate-graffiti-discovered-at-University-of-Michigan-campus.html
Allen, Jeremy. "'Fire Dave Brandon' Rally
Draws nearly 1,000 Michigan students, supporters."MLive.com. September 30,
2014. Web.
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/09/fire_dave_brandon_rally_draws.html
Brandon, Alyssa. "University reflects on
#BBUM a year after the demands." The Michigan Daily.
https://www.michigandaily.com/news/bbum-final
January 20, 2015. Web.
"Reflections on U-M's Diversity
History." Happening @ Michigan, The University of Michigan Events
Calendar. Student Life, Campus Information, University of Michigan.
https://events.umich.edu/event/26163 Web.
While I find your post compelling in its argument, I feel like creating enclaves will not really do anything to solve the diversity issues here at Michigan. The reason student groups have been protesting is due to the lack of students of colors enrolled at the university; affirmative action has been an issue here since it was instituted. While championing diversity and inclusion within the university community is important, until more minority students are physically here, minority groups will continue to protest
ReplyDeleteGood point. But what about the fact that enclaves allow students to discuss where the university is failing and what the minority experience is like? That then allows concrete examples for the University to look at and change and hopefully be more inviting and open to students of color.
ReplyDelete