GSE Diversity Group Meets, Discusses Goals

About 100 Graduate School of Education (GSE) students and faculty met yesterday to advise GSE policy in the Standing Committee on Diversity's working session on diversity.

The session brought together interested students, faculty and staff, who then split up into eight groups to pitch recommendations for GSE diversity.

After the meetings, GSE Dean Jerome T. Murphy presented the recommendations to the GSE senior faculty, terming their suggestions "reasonable."

"It's not as if they wanted us to move the moon," he said. "We were talking about how to operationalize it, figure out what makes sense in terms of action."

Each student-faculty group debated one of four topics related to diversity--faculty recruitment and retention; curriculum, pedagogy and advising; student services and quality of life issues; and admissions and student aid.

"I wanted to be in each and every group," said GSE student Linda Prieto, who joined one of the two groups discussing admissions and financial aid.

Students and faculty said they were pleased with the turnout.

Prieto said the room was so full that people were standing in the back of the room and filling the doorway. Elvira Prieto, a GSE student and Linda Prieto's sister said the majority of participants were students, but that there were high numbers of faculty and staff in attendance as well.

Students said the system of small groups worked well.

"Having two groups [for each topic] is better because more people had a chance to talk," Linda Prieto said.

She added that having two different groups of people brainstorm helped the groups come up with diverse ideas.

Elvira Prieto, who participated in the faculty recruitment and retention group, said the other students and faculty in her group came up with original proposals.

"One suggestion was to develop some kind of mechanism for investigating the experience of faculty," Elvira Prieto said. "There was an agreement that the experience had not been a good one."

She said the group also discussed giving students, especially masters' candidates, a greater role in the faculty selection process.

"We felt it was important to have a voice, but the faculty are still resisting this change," Elvira Prieto said. "It provided for a lively discussion."

Murphy, who was in another faculty recruitment and retention group, said the discussion was amazing.

"We had a terrific discussion," Murphy said. "It was a free, open, lively exchange."

Linda Prieto said the faculty and students in her group were in consensus that the GRE standardized tests should not be a part of the application process.

They discussed research showing that test scores are entirely race- and class-related and have little ability to predict future success in graduate school.

This contention stems from a list of demands students rallying for diversity sent to Murphy on April 25. When the dean responded on May 6, he said the GRE would stay on the school's admissions application.

Yesterday's meeting was the result of a diversity rally held at the GSE earlier this month and the lengthy correspondence between the dean and students that has since followed.

Students, many of whom are in one-year masters' programs, have been pushing for a dialogue with faculty and staff to discuss their concerns before commencement.

"It's important to leave this place knowing concrete things are in place," Linda Prieto said. "We'll see what happens."

Still, with the year almost coming to an end, some students said they are dubious of whether they will see any further progress before they leave.

"It was not clear what the next step would be and what the faculty commitment was," Elvira Prieto said. "Other students shared that feeling.

"We had a terrific discussion," Murphy said. "It was a free, open, lively exchange."

Linda Prieto said the faculty and students in her group were in consensus that the GRE standardized tests should not be a part of the application process.

They discussed research showing that test scores are entirely race- and class-related and have little ability to predict future success in graduate school.

This contention stems from a list of demands students rallying for diversity sent to Murphy on April 25. When the dean responded on May 6, he said the GRE would stay on the school's admissions application.

Yesterday's meeting was the result of a diversity rally held at the GSE earlier this month and the lengthy correspondence between the dean and students that has since followed.

Students, many of whom are in one-year masters' programs, have been pushing for a dialogue with faculty and staff to discuss their concerns before commencement.

"It's important to leave this place knowing concrete things are in place," Linda Prieto said. "We'll see what happens."

Still, with the year almost coming to an end, some students said they are dubious of whether they will see any further progress before they leave.

"It was not clear what the next step would be and what the faculty commitment was," Elvira Prieto said. "Other students shared that feeling.