Menlo Serves All

Like many institutions, Menlo College has recently focused on how best to advance diversity, justice, equity, and inclusion for members of the college community, and particularly for members of historically marginalized communities. At the same time, we have recently been identified as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), reflecting the relatively large numbers of enrolled students who are members of those panethnic groups.

Bringing students from all groups to campus is just the beginning of Menlo College’s commitment. The ongoing challenge is to be an institution that truly serves those students. Rising to meet that challenge creates opportunities to improve their educational experiences while also improving the Menlo experience for all members of the campus community. For example, in a discussion of James Baldwin during a recent literature class, one student explained why he wore his great-grandfather’s Tuskegee Airman’s jacket. That added context enriched the learning environment for everyone. In a political science class discussing bias in the criminal justice system, multiple students shared their own stories of interactions with law enforcement that they perceived as racist. In a humanities class, students addressed inequities that emanated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic: job loss, high risk exposure, inaccessible vaccine distribution, and increased financial burdens, to name a few.

Menlo College is committed to diversifying the faculty and the curriculum – both by adding additional classes to the course catalog and by asking faculty to consider shifting their syllabi to reflect our diverse student body.

For example, we have added classes on Latinx Politics, Race and Racism in the U.S., and Asian-American Literature. Other classes have retained their old titles (e.g., “Major American Writers”) but are being updated to include a greater proportion of authors who are women and people of color.

Even more shifts to the curriculum are planned for the future. These new courses not only help members of the Black, Latinx, and AANAPI communities feel seen and included, but they allow students who do not identify as members of those groups to broaden their educations, better preparing them for life beyond graduation.

I teach the Latinx Politics class. While many of my students identify as Latinx, others do not. All of them benefit from learning about the history of the Latinx population in the U.S., the nuances of different national-origin groups, and how they exert their political power in elections and through non-electoral political behavior. These lessons about the diversity and politics of an increasingly large proportion of the U.S. public are important and interesting for all, regardless of racial identity.

Another major shift to the curriculum has been the approval of Menlo’s first academic minor in Equity and Justice Studies, the result of a proposal from Dr. Marianne Marar. This minor prepares students to understand social justice, better understand systemic inequities and privilege, and to work to shape a more humane global world. I anticipate that we will see large interest in the minor going forward, as students seek to leave college ready to help advance social justice in their workplaces and communities.