ALC Supports Mandatory Race Class

AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) leaders have announced a proposal to force freshmen to take a mandatory course on race, class, and gender. According to a Facebook group designed to promote the required course, such a class is necessary because of articles published in both The Observer and The Heights during the fall semester, both of which are referred to as “offensive.”

This proposal bas also been backed by UGBC President-elect Micaela Mabida and Vice-President-elect Patrick Raab, who supported it on their campaign platform.

The ALC claims to have met with Provost Donald Hafner regarding the establishment of a pilot program before the program is fully implemented. ALC Vice-President Erika Hernandez said that Hafner and the administration have been receptive, but the process has been slow. Still, the ALC hopes to have a pilot program in the fall.

Hafner told The Observer that he is approaching discussions with the ALC with an open mind, but stressed that the subject would be researched thoroughly before any policy is implemented, adding that he believes the ALC agrees with his position.

ALC officials administering the Facebook group promoting the course, titled “The Social Experiment: The Effects of Social Differences in Human Interaction,” claim that Opinions articles in both The Observer and The Heights are responsible for recent “hot spots” of racial tension on campus.

The group adds, “Due to recent articles published in student newspapers, tensions in our community have mounted…Misconceptions regarding affirmative action and the apparent lack of awareness of and sensitivity to racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and religion are at the root of many tensions in our community and need to be addressed through academic means.”

The Observer published an article in September titled “Can I, as a Caucasian, Be a Part of Your Group?,” which concerned racial divides on campus. The Heights published an op-ed “It’s Time to be Equal,” a critique of affirmative action. While the ALC does not specifically mention either of these articles in their proposal, both were a cause of outcry in the fall, resulting in a series of four panels in which The Observer took part.

In response to perceived racial issues on campus, the proposed class would explore “the challenges and difficulties of living in a multicultural environment” and also hopes to teach “the origins of racism, classism, and gender inequalities and their impact on our society, the history of diversity at our university and in our global community, how to integrate a more diverse perspective into one’s life.”

The proposal calls for 22 professors to teach the course, with each section capped at 25 students. Freshmen would have to take the course in either their first or second semester, much like the freshman writing seminar. In addition, each class would have two teaching assistants who “are knowledgeable of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation issues to help hold discussion groups of approximately twelve students.”

Professors could come from a variety of backgrounds, with a special emphasis on Psychology, History, Sociology, English, African and African Diaspora Studies, and any Lynch School instructors.

The ALC hopes to accomplish several goals through this proposal. While it hopes to increase BC’s prestige, to provide experience for graduate students, to educate the community, and to increase enrollment in African and African Diaspora Studies courses, the most notable goal is a reduction in racial tensions. The proposal cites “offensive” newspaper articles as examples of racial tensions that it hopes to alleviate.

Sponsors of the group include Hernandez, “Earl Edwards (ALC President) Gregory Epps (President of SNAPP), Jen Liao (President of Asian Caucus), George Hart and Mercedes Villanueva (Co-Presidents of OLAA), Eatonia Davis (President of United Front), and Sarah Park (UGBC).”

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