UCLA Considers Diversity Class Requirement Again
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — University of California, Los Angeles officials are proposing a requirement for undergraduates students to take a class in racial, cultural, gender or religious diversity, the school's chancellor said Monday.
Despite unsuccessful previous efforts, Chancellor Gene Block is pushing for the classes, which he told the Los Angeles Times are important in improving ethnic relations.
UCLA's largest faculty group, which has authority over curriculum changes, has rejected the idea three times prior. Some argued the classes would skew left politically or would overburden students, while others said the budget wouldn't allow it.
Many UC campuses and other universities have similar requirements.
Out of the nearly 25,300 undergraduates at UCLA, about 39 percent are Asian American or Pacific Islander, 31 perfect are white, 20 percent are Latino and four percent are black, according to fall 2013 statistics.
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