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Show THE DAILY CHRONICLE UTAH OPINION THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW INOTsib- - Machen's Commitment To Diversity Is Lacking Bernard Machen, when he installed as the U's president, said one of his chief oals would be to make the Uni versity of Utah a more diverse place. He has obviously not succeed- J: ed. The percentage in the U's student dropped last year, didn't really have of minorities body actually even though it all that far to fall; minority students make up less than 7 percent of the U's overall student body. Many point to the lack of diversity within the larger Utah community as the obvious cause for the U's problem. They are right; the U is largely populated by Utah residents, who are most-l- y white. Nonetheless, more must be done to attract minority students. Just as worthy of change as the U's homogenous student body, though, is the hick of diversity among its faculty and administrators. These folks are hired after lengthy national searches. The blame here rests squarely on the shoulders of the U's leadership; Utah cannot be blamed. Sure, many minorities may have objections to living in such a homogenous state, but these can be overcome with adequate incentives. U students should be able to take solace in the fact that man diversity and Linda Amos, who is the dean of the College of Nursing, ia also the associate vice president for health sciences. Dace, who is doubles as the lone minority associate or assisat the level tant vice president or higher. That is absolutely astoundingespecially from an administration that claimed increasing diversity was one of its most important goals. As Liz Tashjian, the U's diversity committee chairwoman, said, Machen needs to put his money where his mouth is. Leadership starts at the top; the rest of the university will start taking efforts to seriously improve diversity when Machen does the same. African-America- n, c--f Uf Ho nvm- - a ; Olf .1,1 vs. vv V W ilM W . . APRIL H II I CjlH Wllo . I HlJMAtl Machen is putting those incentives in place and taking steps to remedy the problem. Sadly, he is not at least if the appointments he has made to his senior administration are any indication. Only six of the no administrative appointments made under Machen's leadership have been minorities. Beyond that, only three mem- bers of Machen's cabinet are women. They are not exactly in key positions, either. Barbara Snyder is the vice president for student affairs, Karen Dace is the associate vice president for cr wu nhnfcrteWASA lAEHttl? Or PcnP urn NtRr UVE.-6- Sfrmi W A60? id 1) r vjl LETTER TO THE EDITOR Hancock Should Rethink Approach Editor: How convenient it must be that the editor in chief has a very public forum in which to announce his candidacy for ASUU president. If only we couid all be so lucky. It is fine that he spends the entire article explaining how there will not be a conflict of interest between his candidacy and duties as editor in chief, but most people will only see the headline. When I read The Chrony, I usually do net have enough time to read the entire paper, so I skim over the headlines, look at the pictures and get the general gist of what is being said on campus. Based on this observation, Dave Hancock already has a big advantage over competitors. There is a big headlinebigger than any on the front page which says, "How I'll Handle My Run for ASUU President" with his picture directly beneath it. The hardest part of running for student government is exposure, not issues. He is already way ahead. I remember seeing something on TV where Diane Sawyer was talking about a scathing report she had done on Ronald Reagan. She thought it wouid be controversial, but the next day, she received a note from a member of Reagan's staff thanking her for the fabulous report she had done on him. She. was shocked because what she had said about him was not flattering. However, while her report ran, she showed pictures see ASUU, page 7 rue MJivevsx ty Mus B egm With Educazion the proposed name change, which would include both King's name and "human rights KATHRYN COWLES day." Chronicle Opinion Editor people across the nation-belonto every race, gender, cth- class, religion and background celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In Utah, however, we celebrated Human Rights Day. Utah is the only state in the union that has yet to change the name of the holiday honoring the birthday of King, along with his contribution to civil rights, so that it includes his name. To add insult to injury, the Utah State Legislature commences on the third Monday of every January yes, on Human Rights Day. This commencement date is in the Utah State Constitution, but the Legislature could vote to change the constitution so that the commencement date is on the third Tuesday of January. Similarly, the Legislature could change the name of the holiday to "Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Day," as proposed by Sen. Pete M ging Suazo (D). Some members of the Legislature express reservation at the prospect. Why would such changes be necessary? Others don't understand why people get so worked up year after year about the same issue. Still others claim that "Human Right? Day" includes all minorities, while "Martin Luther King Jr. Day" emphasizes some over others, a problem made irrelevant by CHRONICLE Meanwhile, everyone in the state, and especially at the University of Utah, is so confused as to why we cannot seem to attract minorities. Perhaps it is our own naivete to the tenderness of these issues that makes us undesirable to minorities. We need to value diversity as a state and as a university before we can attract it. When our own Legislature can't understand the importance of giving due honor to advocates, I'd say we have a problem. Some say such honor is a petty concern. Some say civil rights are honored just fine by bringing the issue up on the first day the Legislature meets in the new year. These people can't even comprehend why so many individuals, minorities and otherwise, would view a refusal to recognize and honor a national holiday by taking a day off as an insult. Perhaps a perspective on how the rest of the nation handles this holiday is in order. When I was very young, I lived and attended school in Chicago, 111. I was one of three white children in my kindergarten class we were all named Kathryn. Every year, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day rolled around, the festivities began. They continued through February: National Civil Rights Month. We learned about all the great heroes. The only hard part for me was when we acted out the Rosa Parks story on the playground at school, I always had to play one of the white people on the front of the bus who told civil-righ- civil-righ- OPINION EDITOR ts her to move to the back. This education about the importance of civil rights was so emphasized in public education that my older sister, when asked who George Washington was, replied "I think he's the guy who invented peanut butter." She was thinking of George Washington Carver, a famous black Despite a vocal commitment to the cause by President J, ts Bernard Machen, we cannot seem to attract a diverse student body. Perhaps this is because, although we all talk about diversity, it is not really important to us. inventor. .You can imagine the culture shock I faced when my family moved to Provo and no one knew anything about these heroes I had idolized in Chicago. My mother was so upset by the lack of public education about civil rights that she insisted on teaching a special lesson in February to each of her children's school classes in honor of Civil Rights Month. This was a painful change for me a young KATHRYN COWLES LETTERSCHROMICLE.UTAH.EDU white girl. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it wouid be for a member of a minority group to join a community with no minority heroes. People, especially children, need heroes that are similar to them. Therefore, it is necessary to honor people of all races, religions, ethnicities, genders, classes, backgrounds and everything else. People of the majority group need to be taught that our country has been held together not only by white, upper-clas- s men, but by people all over the racial and economic specirums. Perhaps then, all of cur politicians, not just a select few, will be able to recognize the importance of such a holiday as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But the education cannot stop with politicians and children. Only 6.6 percent of the students at our university are minorities. Despite a vocal commitment to the cause by President J. Bernard Machen, we cannot seern to attract a diverse student body. Perhaps this is because, although we all talk about diversity, it is not really important to us. There are few women and minorities in the highest administrative and academic positions at our university. Without multiple role models to look up to at the U, what member of a minority would want to attend school here when similar schools embrace diversity wholeheartedly, as is reflected in their percentages? This is not to say that we should instigate a quota system for hiring faculty and people in positions of power. In reality, if we, as a univer ses DEVERS'TY, page 7 581-704- 1 |
