Should CRT be a graduation requirement? These student leaders say yes.
Student leaders at the University of Oregon are attempting to make Critical Race Theory training a graduation requirement for students.
The University Senate recently approved a resolution that defends teaching CRT in the classroom.
Members of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) are currently requesting to make Critical Race Theory (CRT) a graduation requirement for students.
Associated Students of UO president Isaiah Boyd believes that the implementation of CRT in the university’s curriculum is “relevant to not only the educational value for students, but also to the wellbeing of our community,” Oregon Public Broadcasting quoted the student leader as saying.
Though Boyd reportedly believes that CRT training will benefit students, not every member of the UO community agrees.
Carter Cunningham, a student at the University of Oregon, is not surprised that his classmates want to push CRT on other students.
“I’m aware of the people I go to school with. I’m okay if they want to have their own thoughts and feelings about things, but it is not their business to force them onto me and try and change my mind,” Cunningham told Campus Reform.
Boyd is working alongside the university’s Provost office and the University Senate, according to Oregon Public Radio.
The University Senate appears to side with ASUO on the issue of implementing CRT as a graduation requirement. On Dec. 1, the University Senate approved a resolution that “defends” the teaching of race, gender justice, and CRT in the classroom.
As of now, students attending UO are already required to take “1 course in the US: Difference, Inequality and Agency category, and 1 course in the Global Perspectives category.”
[RELATED: VIDEO: Students reject Critical Race Theory after learning what it’s really about]
When asked if he thinks mandating CRT training will have a positive or negative effect, Cunningham said, “I think it depends on what exactly they do with it. I think to those who don’t agree with it, it will have negative effects, but to those who do agree it will all sound positive to them.”
“Overwhelmingly I think it will be bad because it will open the door for more ideologies to be pushed on students,” Cunningham added. “In the case of CRT, I think that it’s wrong to tell anybody they are a bad person just because of the color of their skin. White or Black.”
Campus Reform reached out to the University of Oregon, Associated Students of UO, University Senate, Isaiah Boyd, and the Provost Office for comment, but did not receive a response.
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