Hiah schools struaqle to offer multiculturalism
By Mandy Baucum
Emerald Re porter _
Isabel Ktm. a Churchill High School senior, said she
is tired of the wav history classes speak about her cul
ture.
Kim says people of Asian culture may only be men
tioned In the context of the Vietnam War ora or "how
we are taking over in technology "
Mostly negative things about Asian culture are
brought out In our education system," Kim said.
Alba Alonso, a Churchill student, said she wishes the
history classes offered at her school would spend more
time talking about Chicanes other than "how they work
In the cornfields "
Alonso and Kim said they would like to be able to
take an elective course about their own anti other cul
tores However, despite the growing dcniajtd lor < ultur
al education, none of the local high schools have such
elm live i lass offerings
Lot al lugh school history teat hers are faced with the
difficult tusk of Incorporating everyone's historical
background into a one year l; S history course
Ceorgo Westerguard. South Kugeno High School so
i i.d studies department chairman, said all Oregon high
schools are required to offer one year of glottal studies
and one year of I S history
Weslergaard said a government class is also required,
hut is "basically elhnit free "
"The purpose of academe freedom is to try to make a
point to deal with the required curriculum without ex
eluding something else." Weslergaard said "You end
up making some group stand out Our goal is to give an
overall picture The tear her has to pick and choose "
Steve Handrail. North Kugene High School's social
studies chairman, said there is a problem with adding
everyone's history into a one-year history class because.
" when you include something, what do you takeout'"
Distill t history leat hers agreed the global studies
class teaches very little multicultural history They said
PSo*o by
Student Union groups at Churchill High School oiler a
chance lor mmonty students to discuss than cultures
the amount of history Oi.it must be crammed into U S
history just doesn't provide students with the
multu ulturul bat kground laachers would hope for
However, history teat tiers, like Timothy Mein/.en of
’feasant Hill High School, suit! their advanced place
nent courses give them the chance to require ethnic
'eadings outside of the textbook
Byron Dudley, the assistant principal of curriculum
ind instruction ul North lingerie High School, said he
mows there is a lack of history available for and about
ninoritios, hut ret.ogru/es the effort teat hers are making
o fill in those gaps
"My in .is is that it is a very limited historical perspet
ivc," Dudley said "1 know from observing the U S and
\ t’ (courses) tiiat then- is certainly an attempt to look
it the role of minorities in history, Unfortunately. hislo
•y is not perceived as a high-interest area
Gail Nelson, Churchill's social studies department
chairwoman, said because of Eugene’s changing demo
graphics, more demands are being made on ihe schools
to offer a more balanced history curriculum
Steve Handran. social studios chairman at North Eu
gene High School, said minority awareness is now be
coming more of a priority in student education,
• |n the last decade there has been a significant push
to recognize the contributions of minorities to the histo
ry of our nation,” Handran said
Handran said North has been approaching the lack of
culturally balanced history by purchasing a textbook ti
tled The American Odvsscv
"The book provides more than just a caption of a fa
mous minority, like; Mr Luther King Jr.. Handran said
The hiring of Ansolmo Villanueva in March t'i'W) as
Minority-Community Liaison for 4| is an example of the
district's attempt to address representative concerns
Villanueva said part ofiiis job is helping schools es
tablish a plan to address the schools’ minority popula
tions.
District schools have different needs and therefore re
quire different strategies to do this. Villanueva said
Some schools, like Churchill, are in constant contact
with him and in use of his services
Churchill has created student unions to fulfill the
maxis of their minority students. The unions are given
on hour a month to meet and talk about llieir culture,
interests and minority issues.
John Sappington. Churchill's assistant principal, said
Churchill is the model school as far as multicultural
promotion and awareness
Villanueva said "that depends on how you look at
it."
Villanueva said he has his own way of how to toll if a
school is promoting a multicultural environment.
"A school is successful when there is across-the
board participation," Villanueva said. "If ihe student
body has a 10 percent ethnic minority population, then
10 percent of the football team, for example, should be
ethnic minorities."
HISTORY
Continued from Page 1
history professors and concerned stu
dents
Can ia said he (relieves there are prob
lems with the ethnic curriculum offer
ings, one being that his class is not
counted toward the University's race and
gender course ruouirement Another
prolrlem is that students are paying for a
( lass tile teacher isn't being paid lor
There is nothing wrong with the white
perspective. (Jarcia said, hut it should
not be the only perspective taught in his
tory classes
"My perspective is that if you have a
Kuro-Amern an teacher teaching a i lass
that I> with peoples of color," Cnrcia
suit!, "you need to f>e clwir on the fuel
that it is >t luiroAmeru .in perspei live on
Chioano studios "
The issue. h« believes, is one ot life ex
perience
"The University likes to him pimple
with credentials 1 think life experience
has mom to odd," (larciu said "A person
witii life experience can humanize the
content If you balance experience with
research, you've got a great teacher "
Is the University making a sincere ef
fort to meet the student demand for a
more ethnic curriculum?
Most history instructors, such as assis
tant history Professor Jeffrey Ostler, said
they try to incorporate minority groups
in their teachings.
Quintan! Taylor, a professor and act
ing director of the ethnic studies depart
ment, said tin- issue is u complicated
one Tiie problems the history depart
ment faces ere multi-faceted and encom
pass everything from fiscal restraints to
tie- growing need for classes on the histo
ry of I a pa nose, which is quickly becom
ing the United States' largest trade part
ner.
Assistant history Professor William
Toll, a white man currently teaching the
African-American hi story class, said he
is aware of the complex issues around
minority hiring and ethnic course offer
ings ini! tielieves if the University were
truly committed to offering more
multicultural classes, then something
would la; done.
Toll said he believes because the Uni
versity has .1 primarily Caucasian student
body, it doesn't fool us much pressure to
diversify its courses,
"For example, if you were ut Wayne
Stale University, you would have to re
spond to the ethnic needs, or you
wouldn't have a University," Toll said.
"If you compare (the University) with
other universities, Oregon is a backwater
place,” he said, "The curriculum offer
ings are not acquainting students with
the real world, which for the most part
has more of a minority population. You
see a much greater effort in 4J school dis
trict than you do at the University."
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