Push for multicultural studies clears hurdle

Efforts to make multicultural and international studies a requirement to graduate from UNLV has cleared a major hurdle.

The UNLV Faculty Senate voted 27-9 Tuesday to approve mandatory classes that will promote racial and ethnic understanding. It has been a controversial issue that had been twice postponed and well-debated for the past few months.

If approved by UNLV Provost Douglas Ferraro and UNLV President Carol Harter -- they are supporters of multicultural and international studies -- the requirements could be in effect for the freshman class of August 2000.

"We live in a multicultural society and our students need to be prepared to function in a multicultural society," UNLV spokesman Tom Flagg said. "Of course, this also will promote tolerance through understanding."

Flagg said content of the new courses will be approved by a Faculty Senate committee, which also will determine whether existing courses also are suitable as multicultural or international studies.

The measure as approved requires students to take a multicultural course to graduate but it does not increase the total number of credits needed to graduate.

Students would be able to take multicultural courses that already exist in their field of studies or choose another.

Eligible courses would be available in humanities, fine arts, social science core colloquium or in a student's major. Undergraduate multicultural class subjects can include ethnic, sexual and religious minority issues, among other topics.

For example, a student going for a major in counseling could take a course like multicultural issues in counseling and fulfill requirements for both his major and multicultural studies.

"The goal is to provide a liberal arts education to produce a well-rounded student," Flagg said.

Flagg said the action by the Faculty Senate should not cause tuitions to be raised to cover the cost of potential new courses. Nor should it require the hiring of additional faculty, Flagg said.

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