Butler University students are now required to take a 'social justice' course
Although the idea of it was rejected back in 2015, it was later accepted in 2017, and finally ready for students this year, in 2020.
A social justice and diversity requirement at Butler University has been in the works for five years now.
The requirement will be added to the schedules of all incoming and future students.
Incoming and future students at Butler University will now be subject to a Social Justice and Diversity requirement, as it has officially been added to the school’s core curriculum. The SJD requirement will center around three main objectives:
Recognize multiple and intersecting dimensions of identity and inequity through the study of critical scholarship on the historical, cultural, political, and/or social experiences of marginalized communities.
Identify and explain the causes and impact of privilege, power, and oppression and cultivate tools for overcoming conflict and promoting equality.
Recognize and critique local, national, or global conditions that enable, perpetuate and/or challenge social injustice and inequity.
Terri Carney, a Butler University language professor, proposed the idea of an SJD requirement back in 2015, only for it to be rejected by the council. She tried again two years later in 2017. This time, the idea was accepted and the faculty began planning out how it would be implemented, the Butler Collegian reported.
“I believe it’s a good addition to the curriculum,” BU College Democrats member Heather Curtis told Campus Reform. “During first-year orientation, they brought up the fact that this is a predominantly white school, and because of that and recent events, being a liberal arts institution - they feel the need to educate about the problems that take place in minority populations that students wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.”
[RELATED: CU Boulder introduces ‘critical race’ course about ‘whiteness’]
“As an Asian student,” Curtis continued, “It personally gave me a sense of ease and welcoming that I hadn’t experienced in high school.”
However, not all students shared the same opinion.
BU College Republicans member Wyatt Brumett told Campus Reform that this is a “bad addition” to the existing list of required courses.
[RELATED: Ivy League grapples with decisions surrounding anti-racism training, course requirements]
“I came to this university to get a college education, not to be forced to listen to people talk about social justice and diversity,” Brumett said. “But by all means, if there is someone genuinely interested in the subject, then they should have it available to them.”
When asked if he believes whether or not his classmates would take the new requirement seriously, Brumett said “probably not,” noting that he has had conversations “with other people that weren’t happy with it.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter @LeanaDippie
