Twenty-five years ago, our campus blazed the trail for diversity initiatives at universities across the country. We created the first institutional diversity plan, Plan 2008, which made major changes to the dynamics of our campus, encouraging the inclusion of students of a range of backgrounds and identities. Plan 2008 set many goals for our campus including increasing the number of Wisconsin students of color at UW System schools, increasing the amount of financial aid available to needy students and fostering environments and courses that would enhance learning and respect for racial and ethnic diversity.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison was due for an updated diversity plan five years ago. A committee of faculty, staff and students began drafting a new plan last year with a more inclusive definition of diversity when compared to Plan 2008, which focused on racial and ethnic diversity. However, their deadline for completion has already been pushed back an entire year after countless meetings amounted to very little progress by the close of spring semester 2013. Unlike Plan 2008, which outlined specific actions to take in order to better our campus, the current draft has evolved into a framework, with broad goals and no proposals on how to accomplish them. Most concerning of all is the fact that most students do not know that we ever had a diversity plan or that we are working on a new one. How can the new diversity “plan” address what changes students need to see if students are not involved in creating it?
Now is the time--students must raise their voices and become involved in the creation of our new diversity plan. We have the power to improve our campus for an entire generation of Badgers, but we are the only ones who know what needs to change. The Ad Hoc Diversity Plan Drafting Committee began holding campus and community engagement sessions last week to hear feedback on what they have completed so far. The next session is on Tuesday, November 12th in the Mendota Room of Dejope Hall from 5-8 p.m. Please email discussion@cdo.wisc.edu for any accommodation requests. The longer the diversity plan is delayed and watered down, the longer our campus operates below our greatest potential. The time is now—get involved with the diversity plan by attending the campus engagement session to ensure that UW-Madison is inclusive of Badgers from all identities and backgrounds.
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