Incoming students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be subjected to mandatory “cultural competency” training programs beginning in the fall, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
A UW-Madison news release says the program, “Our Wisconsin,” is “aimed at increasing knowledge about cultural differences and promoting community among incoming students.” Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced the program in March “as part of a series of initiatives to improve the campus climate.”
“Most of the problems seen on college campuses stem from ignorance, not malice,” Joshua Moon Johnson said. Johnson is leading the program as the interim special assistant to the vice provost for student life. He also chairs the university’s Hate and Bias Incident Team.
Bias teams have been criticized for endangering free speech and diversity and leading to self-censorship. Examples from various bias teams show how ridiculous they can be.
The university’s bias response team said there were 23 incidents reported for fall 2015. “Several reports were related to intense and disrespectful dialogue on social media, but did not rise to hate speech,” a summary noted.
The program “will provide an opportunity to discuss topics such as identity, culture, and microaggressions.”
Larry Summers, former Harvard president, spoke about a concern for microaggressions in January when discussing “creeping totalitarianism” on campuses.
“The idea that somehow microaggressions in the form of a racist statement contained in a novel should be treated in parallel with violence or actual sexual assault seems to me to be crazy,” he said.
Johnson said the program wants “to definitely create some broad awareness of difference — not to tell people how to think, but to tell people how to critique the ways in which they think.”
However, students who push for certain demands including cultural or diversity training are prone to furthering a certain viewpoint and silencing those who don’t hold it.
Wisconsin State Journal spoke with Michael Davis, a black graduate student who organized a protest in the spring. While he said the program could be a step, it’s not enough to satisfy him. “Cultural competency has a place when done right,” Davis said.
Diversity programs may end up harming more than helping students who ask for them, however, researchers found.
Davis also said that “ultimately if the University of Wisconsin wants to see real change, they’ll shift power to students.”
The university has a diversity program known as the Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Experience (PEOPLE), but despite its $4 million cost, is not succeeding, as Campus Reform reported.
The school will spend between $150,000 to $200,000 to administer this year’s training.
