The University of Idaho Argonaut

Ivan Castaneda, a Hispanic teacher in the College of Art and Architecture, recently resigned from his position due to the “covertly prejudice nature of the university.”

“It’s absolute hypocrisy. They’ll talk about their policies, but you won’t actually see it at work,” he said. “I’m not leaving because I don’t want to be here, I’m leaving because I felt it was impossible for me to work here.”

In one incident, Castaneda recalls someone jokingly referring to “uppity spicks.” He said that he reported the comment and received no reply from the administration until he contacted the Idaho Human Rights Association. His department head declined to comment.

Although Castaneda acknowledges that this was an isolated incident, he believes that the problem lies in “the tone” of the university.
“I call it the ‘white boys club.’ It’s all about northwest white men who control everything. They claim they want more diversity — that’s not really the case,” he said.
With a growing number of Hispanic students on campus, Castaneda is frustrated by the lack of minority faculty members.

“The Hispanic students on the campus are growing, but if you don’t have the teachers… the faces, they won’t stay long,” he said.
When senior Brenda Arteaga moved to Moscow from Parma, Idaho, she was surprised by the level of culture shock she felt.
“You pass a certain point and the Spanish radio just clicks off,” she said. “In southern Idaho, you can get Spanish television…overall, there are more Hispanics and the culture is everywhere.”

The treasurer for UNITY, Arteaga said that it is important for minority teachers to be a fixture for UI both in a supportive role and one of encouragement.
“That’s one of the main reasons I decided to study secondary education,” she said. “I think that it can really make a difference when you see people of color in higher education… you feel like they understand where you’re coming from and you see all the things you can achieve.”

For the 2006-07 school year, the university reported 220 employees who identified themselves as American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, African American/black and Hispanic origins. UI had 295 employees that were listed as unknown or other. Most of the faculty and staff, 2,542 people, were classified as Caucasian.

In 2006, the university created the task force of diversity implementation. The report it released has served as the blueprint for UI’s diversity plan. One of the first proposals was the creation of Mark Edwards’ position as director for diversity and community.
“Recruiting students isn’t the same as recruiting faculty,” Edwards said. “When looking at students you expect a certain level of turnover every year, so it takes less time to see the effects of our recruitment efforts.But with faculty, they’re hired by the department and the turnover isn’t as rapid.”

Over the last year, Edwards has made an effort to visit with different departments on considerations when hiring minority faculty. Everything from where announcements for open positions are placed to how the instuctor’s reception upon arrival should be considered.

“It’s not just about bringing people here and walking away,” he said. “There has to be a cultural climate where they feel accepted, otherwise they won’t stay.”
Castaneda stressed that he had no problem with the city of Moscow or his fellow instructors. But he felt people of color are being “pushed out of the university,” because of a lack of understanding. Castaneda is in the course of a lawsuit against the university because of an “unnecessary” document placed in his promotion and tenure portfolio that he claims was “used in retaliation for his prior complaints against the university.”

“Moscow’s a wonderful place to live — the university just isn’t accommodating to minorities,” he said. “You come and can’t help feeling like a second class citizen… They have real problems that are going to require serious changes.”

Besides creating the position of diversity director, the task force report also recommends appropriating funds for need based access grants, creating a student diversity center to provide more meeting space for student groups, new staff positions in new student services and the Career and Professional Planning Office to work with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the creation of a board composed of faculty, staff and students to advise the director and assist in executing diversity proposals.

So far, only one of the five proposals of the task force report has been implemented, but Edwards hopes to see that change starting next fall with the implementation of the diversity council.

“I’m viewed as the chief diversity person … it’s not fair to have me issue orders on these important issues. Everyone should have a voice because everyone is affected,” Edwards said.

Arteaga is excited by the idea of a diversity council. She said that better communication may the foundation for a more inclusive environment.
“We don’t have that kind of environment right now.  It can feel pretty divided. It doesn’t have to feel that way and you can see people trying to fix it,” she said. “I would love to see a greater mix of teachers on campus, but it’s also important that they don’t sacrifice quality when hiring. That wouldn’t help anybody.”