Beyond Tolerance Initiative

Yosemite Community College District Beyond Tolerance Website

Beyond Tolerance: Why I launched another diversity initiative (Part Two)

"We recognized that we had not yet accomplished what we set out to do."

To some this may seem simply a rephrasing of an old concept. to others this statement may not rank high on their priorities. For some of us the concept and goals of this initiative are significant and long overdue.

So why did we embark on yet another diversity initiative? the short answer is because we recognized that we have not yet accomplished what we set out to do. Despite our attention to access and success, outcomes were not what they needed to be. Our faculty did not reflect the students they served. our minority students did not achieve academically comparable to other students. Our campus climate included incidents of inappropriate behavior and attitudes both in and out of the classroom. Some members of our staff did not feel equally included or respected.

While community members thought well of us, they did not perceive us as a leader in the struggle for equity and tolerance.

< Back

We knew we needed to find a way to change people's hearts as well as their thinking. If we could accomplish that, we felt confident we could attract the best faculty and staff and provide the optimum environment in which all students would succeed.
Even more critical were the dramatic signs in our state and nation that intolerance, hate and violence were becoming more prevalent. Reported hate crimes are rising and nearly 10 percent occur on college and other school sites. the number of known white supremacist groups and hate Web sites is growing monthly. In the recent past we witnessed discriminatory police incidents, burnings of synagogues, mosques and black churches, a shooting as a Jewish cultural center where children were the target, racist murders and successful discrimination suits against major restaurants and hotel chains.
Even a recent U.S. government report, delivered five years late, to the United Nations concluded that the United States is a long ways from reaching the goal of eliminating racial discrimination.

At the same time revisionist historians are attempting to portray everything from the Holocaust to American slavery in a positive light. Closer to home, in our own state, the people had voted their values in restricting affirmative action, English as a Second Language and benefits for immigrants. All of these developments caused us to be increasingly concerned for our current and prospective students.
What began in January of 1999 as another attempt to improve our diverse hiring record quickly moved to a major initiative to make our campus climate exemplary. Two years later the commitment is even stronger. The question I am most often asked "How did this happen?" As a social scientist I know it is much too early to adequately answer this question. I also know that there is still much to do, as well as to learn, and we do not purport to have found "the" answer. What I can share is the series of events that have transpired in the last two years and the difference they have made on our campuses.

Next >