The taxpayer-funded University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy (SPP) will require all faculty members to add a statement to their syllabi acknowledging that the school sits on “stolen land.”
The statement on “Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging” is still in the works and will be included in professors’ syllabi beginning in the spring of 2021, according to an email sent to and shared by the University of California, Los Angeles Law Professor Eugene Volokh, The College Fix reported.
The email, sent to SPP faculty, stresses that adding the statement to the syllabus is “mandatory.”
“As you know from previous emails and communications, the School of Public Policy has committed to creating a syllabus statement with regard to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging,” reads the email, in part, according to Reason.
“The committee working on AR Action 6 has been developing this syllabus statement, which will be mandatory for all syllabi starting in Spring 2021. We have worked with the DIB committee and the Faculty Diversity committee for input and we now seek input from the faculty as a whole,” the email read.
It continued: “The team has drafted, and circulated for feedback, a mandatory diversity and inclusion syllabi statement to be implemented in Spring 2021. We are also in the process of reviewing syllabi within the school with regard to diverse content. Additionally, the team is in the process of creating a database of ideas and resources such as readings, cases, speakers, data sets etc. to assist faculty in improving anti-racism and DIB course content.”
The statement uses such language as “we” and “my” in the professor’s voice, though it is possible that not all may agree with its message, and pertains to three areas of inclusion, per Reason:
- Commitment to an Inclusive Classroom: “It is my intent, as well as the stated policy of the School, that students from all backgrounds and perspectives will be well-served by this course. The diversity the students bring to this class will be seen and treated as a resource, strength and benefit. Materials, discussions, and activities will respect all forms of diversity. All students are expected to promote this aim through their words, actions, and suggestions. If something is said or done in this course, either by myself, students, or guests, that is troubling or causes offense, please let me know right away. The impact of what happens in this course is important and deserving of attention. If you ever do not feel comfortable discussing the issue directly with me, I encourage you to bring the issue to an advisor, administrator or the School of Public Policy Equity Officer.”
- Pronouns and Self Identification: “We invite you, if you wish, to tell us how you want to be referred to, both in terms of your name and your pronouns (she/her, he/him, they/them, etc.). The pronouns someone indicates are not necessarily indicative of their gender identity. Visit trans.umd.edu to learn more.”
- Land Acknowledgement: “We acknowledge that we are gathered on the stolen land of the Piscataway Conoy people and were founded upon the erasures and exploitation of many non-European peoples. You can find more information about the Piscataway Conoy Tribe at http://www.piscatawayconoytribe.com. For more information about the University of Maryland’s project for a richer understanding of generations of racialized trauma rooted in the institution visit https://go.umd.edu/SNW.”
“We suggest this statement should be placed just prior to or after the learning outcomes in the syllabus as well as prominent within your ELMS site. Faculty should vocally review these statements within class as well,” the email concludes.
(Photo credit: carmichaellibrary)
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Professor should respond that you are felons in knowing possession of stolen property and have no rights to exclude others from the property.
These people truly are sick in the head. You weirdo’s can GFY’s too.
This is a taxpayer funded / assisted University. I, for one, do not want 1 cent of my tax dollars to go to such a seditionist/traitorous organization. Defund the terrorist colleges/universities completely. Let’s see how long they stayu on “stolen land”. What a bunch of complete fools and paarents pay for the privilege’s of having these loons “teach/indoctrinate” their children!
In a world gone mad taxpayers, of whom 50% are conservative, are required to fund the destruction of our glorious country’s history, culture and heritage.
INCLUSION and diversity??? If you are white, male, heterosexual and Christian you’re an anathema to most campuses. You will be demonized, threatened, silenced by the student body and some professors. You will be “failed” in the classroom for the “offending” opinions you express. This is a fact at many colleges today.
PRONOUNS AND SELF IDENTIFICATION??? Universities and much of the country ignores the biological science that the sex of our species is not determined in our minds but in our genes. The same people that decry that climate change deniers are “anti-science” are in fact more “anti-science” by believing that a man can become a woman or vice versa. At least there is a scintilla of evidence that climate change may be caused less by mankind and more by nature. Our sex is unquestionably settled shortly after conception. Period. Settled science!
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Universities want to destroy the notion that “to the victors go the spoils”…as harsh and at times wrong as these events are and have occurred throughout human history. But that is the historical truth throughout the human race. It dates back to the first tribes of early man. The ones that developed language, structure within the tribe, rules, laws, innovation and strategy were the tribes that survived. So when European settlers, fleeing oppressive situations in their home country ventured here, their advanced culture gave them a distinct advantage when faced with hostility from those native to this hemisphere. That is not to say what happened as a result of their migration was right but isn’t it ironic that this university is acknowledging that the early settlers stole the land the school is on from native Americans….yet these same academics see nothing wrong with opening our borders and allowing those from other parts of the world to overtake our country, our heritage, our culture just as the early settlers did to the native Americans. Like I said, the world has gone mad. Common sense, love of country and it’s history is a thing of the past and there is a very strong movement to completely destroy what we all grew up feeling blessed to be a part of. And it has a strong foothold in academia and our children and grandchildren are being taught that the United States of America is the cause of all the world’s past, present and future problems. And in the political realm they have a mouthpiece with the avowed socialists in the Democrat Party like A.O.C., Rasheda Talib and Bernie Sanders.