Carroll University
Vol. 33 Issue 7
December 8, 2009
Photo by Tina Ljujic
Student Senate creates Diversity Chair position Lyla Goerl
Editorial Staff Student Senate plans to create a new position to add to its Executive Board: Diversity Chair. The primary role of this chair will be to oversee a committee made up of students, faculty, and/or staff to address diversity issues in the Carroll University Community, and to be proactive about issues as opposed to reactive. Though the Diversity Chair will be on the Student Senate Executive Board, the actual committee will not be considered a standing committee like Academic Affairs, Finance, or Student Affairs. Input and ideas of the committee will still be taken very seriously by the Senate. Luke Bennewitz, Academic Affairs Chair for Student Senate, proposed the idea to the Senate last month. “Many students say
they want diversity, but no one does anything about it... this is something I’ve been wanting to create for a while and I’m glad it’s finally coming to fruition,” Bennewitz said. Other Senate members also share opinions on the new Chair. “There is diversity already on this campus; it’s just a matter of recognizing it and celebrating it,” said Emily Thungkaew, Vice President of Student Senate. “The role of the diversity chair will be to do just that.” This Chair also will facilitate and address issues on and around campus. Once the details are finalized, different diversity groups on campus will be able to present their issues to the Chair if needed. “I don’t see much diversity at all when I’m on campus,” said sophomore and commuter Au-
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brey Fredricksen. While Fredrickson is on campus for a few hours, she does notice how diversity is not brought forward. “It’s not a socially friendly campus,” said Fredricksen. She went on to explain that diversity should be more than just differences in ethnicity, and that she would like to see more interaction between the students to encourage learning. In Bennewitz’s proposal he outlined the diverse groups the committee is intending to serve. “The committee shall be responsible for addressing all concerns brought forward to Student Senate about diversity including, but not limited to, age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, disability, Po litical ideology, economic status, beliefs,” Bennewitz said. Sophomore Ashton Burt
agreed. “It’s more than ethnicity. It’s also about the background of individuals,” said Burt. Recognizing other holidays besides the Christian holidays would be a nice way to recognize diversity. Burt said that students just follow each other; no one seems to walk up to the plate to get to know other people. “It’s a unique thing that the committee will do,” said Bennewitz. “I have always wanted to improve diversity, and now I can finally see a change once the Diversity Chair position is filled.” President of Student Senate Ashley Fraizer said, “I am very excited to see some changes next semester. I think this is going to be really good for Carroll.” The final details regsarding the Diversity Chair and Student Senate will be finalized next semester.
Carroll Demographics* Full Time Students’ Ethnicities Men (Total 790) Non-Res Alien 19 Black, Non-Hispanic 22 AI/AN 6 Asian/Pacific Islander 13 Hispanic 16 White, non-Hispanic 689 Unknown 25 Women (Total 1708) Non-Res Alien 25 Black, Non-Hispanic 21 AI/AN 2 Asian/Pacific Islander 25 Hispanic 54 White, non-Hispanic 1504 Unknown 77
Full Time Students’ Socio-Economic Status 11% high need (lower than $29,000/year) 31% working class (lower than $60,000) *According to 2007 HLC
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