The UNMC Student Senate joined their faculty counterparts on Wednesday night by passing a resolution urging Nebraska state senators to reject a legislative initiative to ban affirmative action.
The UNMC Faculty Senate passed a similar resolution at its meeting on Monday evening.
The legislative initiative, known as LR 233CA, reads “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
The initiative stands to make it harder to recruit a diverse workforce and student body to UNMC, thus denying medical center students the chance to be part of a community the reflects the diversity they will encounter in their careers, Student Senate President Curtis McKnight said.
“As future health care providers and research scientists, we need exposure to differing cultures during our training to avoid the pitfalls of miscommunication due to ignorance of other cultures,” McKnight said.
Student Senate Treasurer Agnes Constantino said the potential ban stands to damage the diverse UNMC environment that allows her to interact with individuals from many backgrounds.
“For students like me, who come from underrepresented groups, this ban would signify a brake on opportunities and a stop to diversity,” Constantino said. “Diversity is important in a community as it allows for different perspectives and creative opinions.”
If passed by the Legislature, the initiative would be placed on the November ballot for voter approval.
The full student senate resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) student body is and should continue to be a broadly diverse collection of individuals rewarding hard work and outstanding academic achievement; and
WHEREAS, diversity in the classroom, clinic, and laboratory promotes understanding of different and varying cultures, enriches the educational experience of students, and allows future health care providers and scientific researchers to practice a higher standard of care by avoiding miscommunications due to cultural barriers; and
WHEREAS, LR 233CA introduced in the Nebraska Legislature by Senator Mark Christensen seeks to amend the Nebraska Constitution in ways that would eliminate lawful and established measures and carefully considered judicial precedent used by UNMC to assist in achievement of diversity; and
WHEREAS, UNMC has programs including, but not limited to, the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), Minority Recruitment Scholarships, and Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) which are a vital part of UNMC and its growth and recruitment of potential students; and
WHEREAS, SMRP, SMDEP and other programs take into account a multitude of aspects within the application process, including some that would be banned by LR 233CA; and
WHEREAS, the elimination of, or mandated alterations to SMRP, Minority Recruitment Scholarships, and SMDEP would be detrimental to UNMC student body by limiting recruitment of talented and underrepresented students and jeopardizing federal grant money; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by UNMC Student Senate that the Student Senate believes current programs to promote diversity are beneficial and crucial to development of the best trained health care providers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Student Senate believes the amendment to the Nebraska Constitution proposed by LR 233CA will adversely affect student body diversity and may result in elimination of aforementioned programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UNMC Student Senate opposes LR 233CA and urges members of the Nebraska Legislature to vote against the same.