U. of Delaware Approves New Diversity Discussions for Students

By ERIC HOOVER

Six months after suspending its controversial dormitory-based diversity sessions, the University of Delaware has approved a plan to replace them with a new residence-life program.
On Monday, Delaware's Faculty Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of the plan, which was designed to promote "citizenship" among students. The program's activities, which are voluntary, would encourage students "to become engaged and active citizens on campus by understanding how their thoughts, values, beliefs, and actions affect people with whom they live and by recognizing their citizenship responsibilities"—an objective similar to the stated goal of the previous program (The Chronicle, November 16, 2007).
Unlike its predecessor, the new program would have administrative and faculty oversight, and would rely more heavily on trained professionals—as opposed to resident assistants—to lead discussions among students, according to university officials. The university plans to regularly assess whether the program is meeting students' needs.
The new program would also emphasize student safety, personal development, and "cultural opportunities" on the campus, according to the university. And it would encourage students to conserve resources, such as by recycling and taking shorter showers, in accordance with Delaware's commitment to sustainability.
Last year some students and professors complained that the previous residence-life program promoted specific views on race, sexuality, and morality. Bill Rivers, a sophomore, told The Chronicle in November that under the previous program, some resident assistants had forced students into uncomfortable discussions about divisive issues, such as abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action. "It's bullying," Mr. Rivers said. "There's no educational justification for RA's asking you these questions."
In October, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based free-speech group, called the program "systematic thought reform" and urged the university to suspend it. Days later, Delaware's president, Patrick T. Harker, did just that.
Delaware officials have conceded that the previous program was flawed. Perhaps the biggest error was the university's failure to clarify that students' participation in the discussions was optional.
When the new program begins next fall, however, the university will make sure students know they can opt out of any of the activities without penalty, says Matthew J. Robinson, chairman of the Faculty Senate's Committee on Student Life, which recently reviewed the previous program.
[To read the entire story, go to: http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/05/2822n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en ] (Subscription required)