This is the final installment of a three-part series detailing how The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board feels about the state of diversity on the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus and the current status and planning environment for the next campus diversity plan.
As the university is moving toward creating a new Diversity Plan, we support its endeavors to focus on cultural change instead of institutional or programming changes alone. Changing the culture in a community of over 40,000 people is a complex goal, but is necessary for the long-term health of our university.
Leaders on the Ad Hoc Diversity Planning Committee gave us some insight to the long-term goals of the coming plan. They informed us that goals for diversity in higher education are moving toward an era of “inclusive excellence.” For policy makers, that means that the university will be working not only toward helping students from underrepresented groups gain admission, but toward instituting programs that will help to retain them and ensure that their experiences on campus are beneficial for them as individuals and the campus as a whole.
It has become evident over the last several years that the campus culture has a long way to go before it is fully functional in fostering safe space and a living-learning environment that allows all students to thrive. Although there are always more ways to improve upon the culture in institutional ways, the university’s new policies will not create lasting change unless students are willing to create change in their own lives.
The Diversity Plan’s success will hinge upon the conscious decisions of students and faculty to question the way that they see the world and their role in it. The “sifting and winnowing” referred to on Bascom Hill should not be limited to the classroom—it should be a continual search for truth in the spaces of our everyday lives, and the pursuit of a greater, more inclusive future.
As the committee moves forward with crafting the plan, it is holding “engagement and listening sessions” for students, staff and other campus partners to participate in conversations about their experiences. They will be an invaluable chance for students to engage in dialogues around important subjects and express their desires for the future campus climate. We urge students and staff to take advantage of these opportunities—shaping a healthier campus culture is the responsibility of individuals as well as organizations.
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