Despite some criticism that ideas from diversity classes are not translated well enough into the real lives of students, some faculty and staff members contend that the requirements are still needed, and are constantly re-evaluating their standards.
Stereotypes, an offshoot of the "us" or "them" mentality in a non-integrated society, is a strong force in the country, said Thomas Hale, who holds the liberal arts professorship in African, French and Comparative Literature.
These stereotypes are some of the main reasons why changes in classes are necessary to better emphasize minority groups, he added.
"Two main changes over the years -- lots more students are taking African Literature courses and we're seeing more and more second generation African students -- bring to the course different perspectives that creates a lively environment," Hale said.
The environment seen in Hale's classroom is the goal of an administration changing some requirements to ensure a wide range of diversity, said Sherry Walk, the university's curriculum coordinator.
Walk, who reports to the University Faculty Senate, said that every five years, the Senate looks at all required courses to see if changes are necessary. And within the past 10 years, many changes have been made to increase cultural variation.
"I think the curriculum is diverse," Walk said. "We have over 13,000 courses and many of the courses [about 600] are for cultural diversity."
The changes that may seem small or unnoticed by some students are making major strides toward curriculum diversity, she added.
On April 27, the Senate Committee on Curriculum Affairs held a meeting and wrote a report, the Proposal for Revising the Intercultural/International Competence (GI) Requirement.
According to the report, the Senate reviewed past requirements and made changes to replace the GI requirement with two separate requirements, one that focuses on U.S. cultures and another that focuses on international cultures.
Cultural Diversity, as stated by the Faculty Senate, pertains to the focus on groups distinguished by characteristics related to ethnicity, race, religious, gender, disabilities and/or sexual orientation.
"There is a new six-credit requirement [where students] must take three credits in a U.S. cultures course and three in international cultures," Walk said.
In the report, it said the Senate's justification for the change was primarily based on current events.
"Both United States and international coursework ... show a clear value in studying both topics. ... Events of the past few years, including 9/11 ... indicated that both were important to our students and that both had to find a place within our program of study."
Additionally, the students will be able to choose from a richer array of courses, thus highlighting what Walk referred to as a "diverse curriculum."
Active modifications to the curriculum were made by the Senate since the 1990 version that claimed the goal of cultural diversity courses to consider and appreciate various backgrounds and traditions in the developing global community.
Now, the goal for the GI requirement, which the Senate said to be more dynamic, is to "emphasize student engagement and active learning."
