A Win for Common Sense

"The UCLA College faculty has once again voted down a diversity-related general education requirement," reports the Daily Bruin.

The "Community and Conflict in the Modern World" requirement would have required students to take a GE course dealing with conflicts and collaboration that can emerge through differences in communities. It had been in the works since 2010.

The vote against "studies" departments was remarkable, writes Tim Groseclose at ricochet.com

The proposal would have required each UCLA student to take a class that examines “community and conflict.”  Although the proposal did not precisely define “community and conflict,” it listed a set of sample courses that would satisfy the requirement.   Approximately half of those courses were taught by one of the “studies” departments—e.g. African American Studies, Chicano Studies, Asian American Studies, Labor and Workplace Studies, American Indian Studies, etc.  Almost all of the remaining half would naturally fit in one of the “studies” departments.

The college's budget woes contributed to faculty rejection of the GE requirement, according to the Daily Bruin.