ASUU president Sam Ortiz said he has been working for some time on a diversity training program for professors. He said the program is designed to create a “better climate on campus” and to help students feel more welcome in their classes. He plans on making it accessible to faculty later this semester.
“It’s been a little slow-moving because it is a sensitive issue,” Ortiz said.
He also said some students and professors hear discriminatory comments from other students in classes but do not know how to handle the situation or to whom they should report it.
“It may not be completely developed by the time my term is over,” Ortiz said. “I hope to leave it in a place where it is sustainable and has enough momentum to keep it going.”
He advocates that the Diversity Training Program is a small step the U needs to take in order to foster an appreciation and understanding for diversity on campus.
Another plan ASUU has for the new semester is an event-packed Martin Luther King, Jr. week. As a part of the festivities, a spoken word poet will come to campus. On the Tuesday after MLK Day, Ortiz said Trayvon Martin’s mother will be at the U. ASUU will also be working with the Hinckley Institute during that time to put on a panel about racial profiling.
For the upcoming semester, Ortiz said ASUU is currently preparing to hold the first-ever Pac-12 Leader’s Summit from Jan. 23 to the 25. Student leaders from across the Pac-12 will visit the campus and share ideas on how they can improve each of the schools.
“I think we have some great programing coming up,” Ortiz said.
Many of the seniors in ASUU are also working closely with the ASUU Infant Care room. ASUU voted to allocate $25,000 from their funds to help cover the cost of an infant care room in the ASUU Child Care facility as a class gift. The project is headed by senior class president Kendahl Melvin, who is collaborating with ASUU vice president Sara Seastrand.
Ortiz said ASUU will be working with the U’s LGBT Resource Center during Pride Week this semester.
ASUU’s academic affairs director Rachel Wootton also said the Academic Affairs board is planning for a busy semester, including the Student Choice Awards later in the semester. The nomination form is set to be available next week, and the deadline is in March.
“Students can use it to nominate instructors and professors at the U who have had a substantial positive impact on their education at the U,” Wootton said.
She also said the board is already getting set for Spring Semester’s Geek Week. In addition, there will be a committee to find ways to decrease textbook costs for students and a committee to help retain students at the U.