Colin M. Hill / KCOU News / March 3, 2010
After two students dropped cotton balls outside MU’s Black Culture Center on Friday, MU administrators are considering forcing students to take diversity courses.
Monday’s town hall meeting attended by students, faculty and community members at the Black Culture Center quickly shaped into a debate on the state of diversity at MU, with the realization that racial divide is not dead on the MU campus.
MSA President Tim Noce said he hopes that people do not forget the cotton ball incident at the Black Culture Center. Police have subsequently arrested two men they say did the crime.
At that meeting one of the issues discussed was whether diversity should be a required subject to be taught at MU.
Such a measure is being supported by several campus organizations, including Four Front and the Legion of Black Collegians.
Administrators agreed that a diversity course requirement is needed and could be enacted as early as next year, but recommending new curriculum is not a simple process. The requirement could potentially be filled by choosing from a number of existing courses that meet certain standards, including incorporation of discussions on stereotypes and different points of view.
According to MU’s Faculty Council, the need for a diversity course requirement is currently number 1 on a list of issues being evaluated by a task force formed last semester to review MU’s general education policy.
Last updated: 7:27 p.m. March 3
