Portland State University Magazine Fall 1991

will be deemed complete without a discussion of how women were oppressed in 16th century England. '' Is the Academic Requirements Committee going to be so politically correct as to exclude my courses? And if it does, boy , will I raise hell. -Michael Hollister '' PSU 's Hollister, whose literature courses include black and feminist authors, calls himself a "true multicul– turist," yet he says his department is under such pressure-mostly from feminists-that simply including those authors will not be enough. A lthough there is a big list of poten– tial courses that can count toward the requ irement, he argues the list could eventually be shortened to include only those promoting a particular political ph ilosophy, such as radical feminism. "Is the Academic Requirements Committee going to be so politically correct as to exclude my courses? And if it does, boy will I raise hell," he says. Millner argues that the require– ment is not intended to tell students what to think, but to give them some– thing to th ink about. "A student is not going to be requ ired to adopt any particular pos i– tion or philosophy to do well in these 12 PSU classes. He's simply going to be requ ired to come to grips with the issues," Millner says. "! think that's right within the mainstream of what a university is." As a bonus, he says minority stu– dents will feel more comfortable at the University when they see that the curriculum reflects some of their experiences, and the University also will be able to attract more minority fac ulty. Politics aside, some simply are con– cerned that the requirement is just one more burden, particularly for students transferring from community colleges who will have to pack those required courses into two years rather than four, according to Howard Wineberg, a professor in the Center for Population Research and Census, and a member of the ARC, which studied the proposed requirement for a year before presenting it to the Faculty Senate. "If you are going to have a few more requirements, what are the prior" ties? I would put them in verbal communication and computers. Why does cultural diversity beat these out ?" he asked. Will the new requirement do the job its proponents want ? PSU's diversity requiremen t is not meant to be a panacea for racism and sex ism- to suggest that would be naive, accord ing to Millner. In fact, the ARC's report to the Faculty Senate in June stated that although the members consulted with the University of O regon, San Francis– co State University, Bowling G reen State University, and the University of Mich igan-as well as faculty with in PSU- they could not say much on its potential effectiveness. "We do not know of any study on the effect of such courses," stated the report. "If the senate wishes to know the answer to this question it must be prepared to commission the study itself." The ARC recommended that the senate evaluate the requirement after it has been in place for two years, and that the evaluation should include its effect on transfer students. Over the 1991-92 academic year, the ARC will choose the courses that will fulfill the requ irement. Maynard says the University may survey the student body once the list is com– pleted to see how many students are already taking those courses. "It might mean in the long run that the requirement is not even necessary," he says. If the aim is to produce a student body with a heightened awareness of minority issues and perspectives, no one is expecting the six-hour require– ment to do it all. The hope is to give initial exposure and spark curiosity with the requirement and, says '' A student is not going to be required to adopt any particular position or philosophy to do well in these classes. -Darrell Millner '' Maynard , "leave the rest up to good luck and opportunity" "You cannot guarantee its out– come," he says. "People may be enthralled by it and interested, or they may be alienated. That's the chance you always take when you oblige people to do something." D (]ohn R. Kirkland , a Portland free-lance writer and photographer, is a frequent contributor to PSU Magazine.)