Grand Valley State U. Adding Focus on Social Justice to Curriculum
“There is a cultural element to asking students to write an essay about themselves that many BIPOC students struggle with”
Every time it seems like we might be getting away from this craziness, the academic left doubles down.
The College Fix reports:
Grand Valley State honors college focuses on ‘social justice’ to increase ‘diversity’: emails
Grand Valley State University’s Frederik Meijer Honors College has shifted toward a “social justice” orientation in both its curriculum and admissions in an effort to increase racial diversity, according to emails recently obtained by The College Fix.
The comments were first redacted by university attorneys as part of a Freedom of Information Act request by The Fix. However, they were revealed following an appeal by The Fix. The comments were made on a thread of emails from 2022 that shows Honors College officials discussing how they privilege racial minorities for admissions and scholarships, as previously reported by The Fix.
In the April 2022 email, Honors College staff and leadership discussed removing traditional essay requirements from admissions, saying they present cultural barriers to black and other minority students. Instead, they suggested using letters of support.
“There is a cultural element to asking students to write an essay about themselves that many BIPOC students struggle with – largely b/c many communities emphasize looking to others to speak on your behalf rather than singing your own praises (which can feel arrogant or selfish),” Shell-Weiss told her colleagues.
The email, written by then-Interim Associate Dean Melanie Shell-Weiss, described several initiatives to increase the racial diversity of the Honors College. One main proposal was to “[o]bviously and overtly orient the curriculum and co-curriculum toward social justice.”
In the email, Shell-Weiss referenced the broader goal of integrating social justice values into the Honors College experience. This approach included specific recruitment strategies like “word-of mouth efforts led by diverse students” to make sure to convey the program’s explicit commitment to DEI.
Shell-Weiss also emphasized a focus on building a community that values “inclusivity” and social justice.
Included in the email was Professor Roger Gilles, director of the Honors College and other administrators.
The Honors College, media relations, and communications teams did not respond to multiple requests for information via email and through voicemail in the past several weeks. The Fix asked for elaboration on and reasoning for the changes, whether or not they got approval, for comment on the emails, and for general responses to the changes.
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