UNLV faculty split on wisdom of multicultural studies

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 | 9:03 a.m.

Some faculty leaders are backing the proposals, while others question the wisdom of trying to teach college students tolerance, sensitivity and other values in a couple of semesters.

Three students told the group of 34 Faculty Senate members on Tuesday that requiring two classes would be better than none at all for students facing increasingly diverse work environments upon graduation.

At the end of a 1 1/2-hour debate, the Faculty Senate voted to give itself more time to study the university's first proposed changes to the general education requirements in 14 years.

Mateo Nares, a senior studying physics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told the panel not to pass up the chance to enrich the lives of university students and give them the tools they will need in the work place.

"It would expose students to critical dialogues that promote tolerance of different cultures," Nares said. "I would argue that tolerance of differences is also a fundamental skill."

Management professor Samuel De Marie called the issues of multicultural diversity important, but he said, "One class in multiculturalism is not going to make that much difference."

Under the proposal, all UNLV students would be required to take one class on issues related to under-represented U.S. minorities and one class exploring international cultures. The changes, if adopted by UNLV administrators, would take effect in fall 2000.

Brendan O'Toole, an engineering professor, told fellow Faculty Senate members that most in the engineering college were opposed to the new requirements because they would further burden students who need to earn 135 credits, compared with the 120 credits required in other disciplines.

Some in engineering, he added, are questioning why the focus is on liberal arts and there is not a push to add more sciences and math classes. The committee is proposing to subtract the university's computer science requirement.

The addition of the multicultural and international studies classes as well as a University Colloquium class are the major changes proposed to the university's general education core, a 45-credit set of requirements that includes everything from English to math.