Honors College
seeks to diversify curriculum
■The college will revamp its
history courses with the help
of a $12,000 grant
By Brooke Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
Diversity improvements are in
the works at the Robert D. Clark
Honors College, and over the course
of the next few years the faculty
hopes to see a more diversified stu
dent body and faculty, and even a
more global curriculum.
The Honors College recently re
ceived a $12,000 grant from the
Williams Council that will allow its
faculty to develop and eventually im
plement a history curriculum focus
ing on the histories of a variety of cul
tures. The faculty will spend the next
academic year researching and plan
ning the revised curriculum.
In addition to revamping the cur
riculum, David Frank, associate
professor of rhetoric and director of
the Honors College, said he is deter
mined to see diversity among the
Honors College faculty and student
body increase. He said focusing on
these two groups while revising the
history curriculum may be key to
improving overall diversity.
“No one change will make the dif
ferences we seek,” he said. “Our in
tent is to embrace diversity and do so
carefully.”
Frank said next fall’s freshman
class appears more diverse than this
year’s, and revising the history cur
riculum is one way to ensure a variety
of students remain in the college.
Joseph Fracchia, an associate his
tory professor in the Honors Col
lege, said selecting material for the
revised classes will be a challenge
because there is so much informa
tion to choose from. He said one
part of the grant will fund a two
week seminar allowing University
faculty to meet this summer to de
velop ideas for the future curricu
lum, including possible course top
ics, texts and materials.
“We are looking to develop a cur
riculum that has integrity and yet also
can deal in depth with various cul
tures,” he said. “We have to organize
it so we do justice to all cultures.”
Fracchia said improving diversity
in the Honors College has been a con
cern of his for nearly a decade. For a
long time, he was the sole history pro
fessor in the Honors College and re
vising the curriculum was too much
for one person to do alone, he said.
Now that there are two history pro
fessors and there is grant money, the
faculty are more able to take action to
improve diversity.
“This is something that’s overdue,”
he said. “I’m excited it’s happening.”
Fracchia said students share his
enthusiasm.
“Students regularly expressed con
cerns to me diat the curriculum is too
narrow, so many of them are now
pleased," he said.
Frank said the new curriculum
will be ready to test in the 2002-2003
academic year. He also said the Hon
ors College will begin a search for an
additional history professor for next
year. The department hopes to bring
in someone who is an expert in a field
outside Western history.
In addition to hiring new faculty,
Frank said the Honors College will of
fer a handful of courses next year with
topics ranging from global human
rights to Latin American ethnicity. He
said the college invited University
professors outside the Honors College
to teach in their areas of expertise.
Carlos Aguirre, an assistant history
professor, will teach Race and Ethnic
ity in Modern Latin America to Hon
ors College students next winter. He
said he hopes to teach them how to
appreciate the complexities of racial
identities among Latin Americans
and also dispel some of the typical
stereotypes surrounding Latin Amer
icans.
SASS fo rms new grou p
to help assault victims
■ Survivors ot sexual assault
can attend a weekly support
group exclusively for students
By Lindsay Buchele
Oregon Daily Emerald
Those who have survived sexual
assault are hesitant to talk about what
has happened to them and often have
difficulty finding the right support
system, said Robin Tiedeman, the
Sexual Assault Support Services sup
port group program manager. But
University students who have been
victims of sexual assault now have
one more resource for dealing with
their experiences.
SASS has joined forces with the
University Counseling Center to
bring a safe and comfortable envi
ronment to University women who
can find support with each other.
Starting today, the counseling cen
ter will host a closed group session
once a week until the end of spring
term to provide support for Univer
sity females who have been victims
of sexual assault.
“SASS does important work in our
community for survivors,” said Dr.
Joy Lum, a staff psychologist for the
University Counseling Center. “[We]
wanted to work jointly with [SASS]
because we have mutual goals of
helping those who have experienced
sexual assault or abuse. ”
Students can sign up on a first
come, first-serve basis and take par4
in the exclusive group, Tiedeman
said. The group will be limited to six
or eight female University students.
“It’s important not to add people
once the group has started,” she said.
“The idea is that the group becomes
comfortable enough with each other
to share their experiences and feel
ings. If people are added, this can cre
ate an uncomfortable situation. ”
She has recently taken over the po
sition of support group program co
ordinator and said she decided that it
was time to start a group again, with a
new group of sexual assault survivors
established every term.
“At this point, the group is just for
students in order to present a safe en
vironment,” she said. “If the group
flourishes, we may be able to add a
faculty group.”
Tiedeman and Lum agree that sup
port from others who have shared the
same experience can mean a lot to a
sexual assault survivor.
“So often survivors fear they must
have done something wrong or have
been bad to be assaulted or experi
ence abuse,” Lum said, “and while
this is not the case, groups like the
one we are forming help survivors
find more power and feel less alien
ated.”
Lara Modisette, a sexual assault
prevention and education coordina
tor for the ASUO Women's Center,
said the center supports the group.
“We get women looking for sup
port resources all the time,” Modis
ette said. “A group atmosphere might
be more comfortable.”
Tiedeman warns that a group at
mosphere might not be best for
everyone. For those who need that
support, there are strict guidelines
of confidentiality.
“Students will need to make
agreements with each other on how
they communicate outside the
group,” Tiedeman said.
The group will meet today from
12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the Univer
sity Counseling Center. To sign up,
call the Counseling Center at 346
3227orSASS at 484-9791.
10221
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