With Plan 2008 coming to an end, UW-Madison students voiced their opinions and possible solutions to increase the diversity of the campus during a student forum Wednesday.
Plan 2008 is a 10-year program created by the university to include more diversity on campus, but is coming to an end this year. The plan includes specific strategies to increase the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of students of color in order to increase the education pipeline, financial aid, faculty and administration of color and improve the campus climate.
It is important that we have student voices as part of all the successes and the challenges that we face as part of the plan,"" said Amandeep Kaur, executive staff member of the Multicultural Student Center.
Kaur said conversations among students is key to the success of future endeavors.
Kaur introduced keynote speaker Damon Williams, UW-Madison vice provost and chief officer for diversity and climate, who discussed Plan 2008's successes and failures.
Williams said the greatest thing the plan had achieved was building pipeline programs that have academic outreach.
""[Although] we have made incredible investments into access issues, equity issues and education issues in recent times, we have not made the same investment as it relates to diversifying our faculty,"" Williams said.
Williams said he did not want to focus on the problems of the plan, but to come together and conduct a conversation to allow students to be part of the solution. To achieve this, the student forum was divided into seven small groups, where students and staff members offered solutions for each of the goals of the plan.
UW-Madison sophomore Ryan Garza, who led the financial aid group discussion, proposed that the university ""freeze"" tuition when students come in as freshmen to help students of color with financial needs.
""You should find different ways on how to finance your education ... to try to make different approaches '¦ to network, make connections with people that you trust and that believe in you,"" Assistant Dean Geoffrey Thompson said to students in the group discussion.
Williams said he has met with students and faculty on campus to create a transition plan, which will serve as a step toward greater diversity at UW-Madison. This plan has already been printed and will show activities and what is going to happen on campus after Plan 2008 ends.
