Real-Life Multiculturalism : UC Irvine program deserves a look by other universities

It takes only a walk across the UC Irvine campus to see the wide diversity of the university’s student population. Although Orange County is stereotyped as an all-white enclave, its largest institution of higher education, which has an undergraduate student population of 17,000, is about half minority, with more than a third of the students Asians and nearly 9% Latinos. Nor is that diversity confined to UCI; Orange County’s 2.4 million population now is more than one-third minority.

How can a university best help varying cultures study, work and live together? It needs to be willing to try new methods. To its credit, UCI is a leader in a budding national movement to require students to include multicultural studies in their course work. In the fall of 1990, UCI began requiring undergraduate students to take two multicultural courses. Now, UCI Extension has joined the movement by requiring students enrolled in certificate programs, which provide professional education in specialized areas, to attend a three-hour session on multiculturalism.

About 12,000 students a year enroll in UCI continuing education classes, about 70% of them in 41 certificate programs. Some programs have required multicultural studies as part of course work. Others haven’t broached the subject. Under the new program, all now must consider the issue.

UCI’s move toward multicultural studies is part of a national debate on ethnic and gender studies. Some academics fear that such programs impose “political correctness” on the classroom. However, Melvin E. Hall, UCI’s dean of extended education programs, insists that UCI Extension does not “preach” to students. The program--which UCLA Extension official say they may emulate--instead is aimed at getting students to think about issues they will face on their jobs and in their communities. That’s a worthy goal.