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University of Wisconsin to Conduct Cultural Competency Trainings for Students

New Trainings Will Address Racial Bias On Campus

There is something not quite right about today's society. It seems that you can't open your mouth without offending anyone. For instance, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is running the risk over coddling their students. The university recently announced that they will require about 1,000 incoming students to participate in a "cultural competency training" in the fall, costing the university about $150,000 to $200,000 in expenses.

This announcement was made following a semester of student protests over racist slurs from two UW-Madison officials. This is one of the few new initiatives from the UW Administrators after they faced criticisms, protests and social media outbursts from minority students, who said that they had negative experiences on the campus.

About 'Our Wisconsin' Program

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The program will be called "Our Wisconsin" and it will be aimed at increasing knowledge about cultural differences as well as serve the freshmen community.

Among the topics that the training will address are identity, culture and microaggressions. Microaggressions are those seemingly minor or unintentional slights that could contribute to a hostile atmosphere for minorities and people of color.

The training will be limited to about 1,000 students and will be conducted in person in two sessions. It will be mandatory for incoming students next year, although there is no mention of how much this program will cost in the future. 

Joshua Moon Johnson, the lead of the program's development as interim special to the Vice Provost for Student Life said that the problems seen on campus were that from ignorance, not malice.

"This pilot is an effort to definitely create some broad awareness of difference -- not to tell people how to think, but to tell people how to critique the ways in which they think," he added.

Racial Problems on Campus

This is not the first move by the university to cut biases in their campus. In April, the university held a cultural competency training for the school's administration -- a good start to what they see as something that should stop the unwelcoming and intolerant atmosphere.

As the program continues, the University of Wisconsin is also reviewing over 100 suggestions from different people to improve the racial climate on campus. Among the suggestions include a so-call "Stall Seat Journal" at the back of bathroom doors. The journals will include written messages that address racial and cultural diversity on campus to elicit more sensitivity regarding this issue.

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