The Climate Census

Sara Adams

Undergraduate/Political Science

As if your professors didn’t give you enough busy work, not too long ago you were asked to spend 40 minutes taking a survey asking questions the University already believes they know the answer to. It’s also costing the University $10,000 to conduct the Campus Climate Survey, according to Teresa O'Halloran, Assistant to the Chancellor for Affirmative Action.

Many of the goals of the Campus Climate survey seem laudable enough, such as assessing harassment and wheelchair access to buildings. I have to admit that I’ve always thought the biggest problem with our campus “climate” was that it was too damn boring, but if people want to make sure our campus isn’t turning into New York City at night, I have no problem with that. Although you have to wonder if there are cheaper ways of figuring these things out. 

However, there’s reason to believe that the University has drawn their own conclusions about the “climate” of the University, and these conclusions will be unaffected by the results of the survey. The University has already made a commitment to address the issues it claims to want to measure. Which seems premature, unless the survey is irrelevant or merely public relations. 

Or as the chancellor put it in his email distributing the survey, “One of the four core values derived from our recent strategic planning process and incorporated into our Centennial Plan is to support Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness (EDI). In support of this value, our Gold Arrow action priorities for 2008-09 promoted EDI outcomes across the university, and more than half of the “Quick Wins” funding that was awarded as we transitioned to our new budget model was targeted at EDI initiatives. In keeping with our Centennial Plan goal to nurture human resources and our commitment to EDI, we are participating in the University of Wisconsin System Campus Climate Survey Project.”

I apologize for subjecting you to that bizarre manifesto. However, what this means is the University has already committed money to improving the problems the survey asks if you have (problems with equity, diversity, and inclusiveness, or “EDI”). To be exact, UWEC is committed to spending $126,440 on EDI, according to Stephanie Jamelski Budget Officer for Academic Affairs . 

Given this generous allocation to EDI and the campus climate, it’s pretty much a done deal that administration has determined UWEC has been struck by a campus specific strain of global warming. There are pages and pages of documents available online detailing plains for making these new solution- buzzwords somehow alive and real. I bet this will succeed about as much as Barack Obama will succeed in really bringing “Change” to America. Because I’m sure we can all agree that the best way to get down to what really makes us all human is cheesy slogans and talking points

Further, in the survey faculty were asked to answer some questions about what they think is the best way to improve the campus climate. This is another indicator that those administering the survey have already moved on from deciding whether or not there are problems to deciding to fix those “problems.” 

Here are just a few solutions faculty are asked to agree or disagree with implementing:

“Providing recognition and rewards for including diversity in course objectives across the curriculum.”

Requiring all writing emphasis classes to involve at least one assignment that focuses on issues, research and perspective that involve diverse populations.

Including diversity related activities as one of the criteria for hiring and/or evaluation of staff/faculty and administrators.”

I find these recommendations troubling, in that it would encourage faculty who want job security to pander to pander to hiring committees about their interest in “diversity” issues. This would eventually lead to monolithic course offerings, and ironically discourage real intellectual diversity 

The second recommendation above suggests all writing emphasis classes spend an assignment on diversity issues. In my speech class, we spent one speech on diversity issues, since the speech class qualified for meeting a diversity requirement. My group was assigned African American Music, other groups did something else related to African Americans. I think the presentation lasted fifteen minutes. What we put together was inevitably oversimplified and superficial, which I thought was the kind of thing we were supposed to be avoiding in race relations, but whatever. Our predominately white class was also put in the awkward (and I felt, offensive,) position of saying “this is what African Americans think about…” A friend of mine who took the class at a different time had to do a speech on Native American religion. It’s insulting to racial and ethnic groups to try and work them in as one course assignment per writing course in the name of diversity, especially when it’s an assignment to summarize. Having an entire class devoted to, say, Asian Literature or Islam class is completely different. By the way, those classes already exist. 

Making matters worse is the fact that this time consuming survey is self-selected. A Facebook group promised it would take me 20-40 minutes. It took me a minimum of 40 minutes, and I take surveys rapidly and am among the first to finish class evaluations. Odds are only those with a previous interest in “campus climate” and “EDI” issues will take the time to fill this out, making it highly unlikely that this will be representative of the student body. Care has to be taken to make sure all majors and all years take the survey in equal numbers, or the results should not be said to be representative of the whole campus. Otherwise all that will happen is the campus will only be getting input from people who’ve already given input about these issues, since it was preexisting input about EDI that’s led to the funding allocations. 

If you filled out the survey you’ve done nothing more then go through the motions of participating and having your voice heard as part of a publicity stunt where the administration pretends student input matters. I give you props for trying. But University administration has already made up its mind.