The Academic Senate meeting began with a word from President Ara Aguiar. She wished all the participants a warm and safe Thanksgiving for the holiday.
Aguiar recounted meeting the chancellor, and added she plans include 12-15 sections in the upcoming winter semester but an unorthodox bit of news made headways.
The LA District plans on uploading a mechanism to identify online bots. “They put a hold on the bots to prevent them from enrolling and fix the situation of classes being full in a heartbeat,” Arguiar said.
A resolution which was passed back in 2020 meant to address systemic racism was discussed. Faculty and Professional Coordinator Brian Moe spoke about a portion of the faculty evaluation which addresses professional development of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“It’s always a concern and should be at the forefront because we all share the same planet,” Moe said.
Another item addressed was the future of a controversial statue by John Ehn on campus which depicts violence against Native American culture but was deemed historic.
The debate was whether the statue should be removed from campus and placed somewhere else.
“A museum or somewhere not here because it has no place anymore and we’re trying to move past that,” Moe said.
Senate President Margarita Pillado expressed her wishes to schedule more classes in-person on campus.
“The classes feel faster online but it’s hard to go to the administration and require the in-person ones,” Pillado said. “We have the need for classes to be heavily enrolled.”
