The University of Wisconsin-Madison will be holding its first annual shadow day Friday, April 25, in an effort to provide outreach to students that have traditionally faced obstacles that impede their college careers and the achievement of a diploma. This is part of an ongoing effort by ASM to facilitate diversity on campus.
Currently the state of diversity on campus is rather bad, with minority students comprising only 8 percent of the total student body, and significantly less in certain schools. However, the university has a plan to increase the diversity of the student body.
Plan 2008 aims to increase minority student representation to a level comparable with that of the entire state of Wisconsin and of the other Big Ten universities through a series of measures including: increasing the number of minority students from Wisconsin who apply, are accepted and enroll at UW; closing the educational achievement gap by increasing retention rates and graduation rates of minority students until they reach the level of the student body as a whole; increasing the amount of financial aid money available to minority students; increasing the number of minority faculty and staff working at the university such that they are represented at a level comparable with their availability in relevant job pools; fostering an environment conducive to diversity and education; and holding the university and its schools accountable. Further information about Plan 2008 is available at http://diversity.wisc.edu.
Plan 2008 is implemented by the administration in conjunction with faculty from each respective school. The ASM Plan 2008 Campaign’s main duty has been to provide information to students about Plan 2008 with the hope of increasing student participation in its implementation, to serve as the student government’s advocate for diversity and to ensure that the university is held accountable.
Each spring, the university holds a Plan 2008 Forum in which it gives a report of progress made in the implementation of Plan 2008. Before each forum, the campaign prepares a report compiling enrollment statistics for each school and compares the numbers for the current year with those of the previous year, making remarks on the progress of each school towards realization of Plan 2008.
During the fall semester, the campaign worked with other student organizations including APAC, Union Puertoriqueña and MEChA. to persuade the administration to create a Department for Comparative American Studies in an effort to provide curriculum infusion to the student body and thus help to create an environment that is more conducive to diversity.
Presently the campaign is helping to promote Days of Listening, a program aimed at improving campus climate by creating a safe environment for open dialogue between students, faculty/staff, administration and the university community on campus climate. All are encouraged to attend. Information about the Days of Listening is available at www.ohrd.wisc.edu/special/listening.htm.
In order for the university to realize its goal of improving campus diversity, measures must be taken by the administration and by each specific school to address the implementation of Plan 2008; but most importantly, the student body needs to get involved in the implementation. A few years ago, two multibillion-dollar companies, General Electric and Hewlett Packard among others, stated their displeasure with students they had recruited from UW, specifically about the students’ lack of exposure to different races and to a diverse environment. They threatened to stop recruiting at the university if steps were not taken to improve campus diversity and significant progress was not made.
It is in the best interests of all for significant progress to be made and for the university to become more diverse. In a world that is becoming increasingly smaller and increasingly more diverse, the university should strive to become a microcosm of the entire country, preparing students for the world that they will encounter the rest of their lives.
Rithvik Balakrishnan ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and is a member of ASM’s Plan 2008 Campaign.
