Stanford Pushes Separate Physics Course for Minority Students

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A 2016 survey revealed Stanford’s physics department to be one of the “least diverse” departments within the institution, and the university has since embarked on a mission to resolve that supposed concern, according to a university news release.

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The university says this modified course helps to increase diversity in the field because “students from underrepresented groups often don’t have the same level of preparation from high school as their majority peers.”

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The Stanford College Republicans told Campus Reform that the group finds “the creation of special curricula and support services for ethnic minority groups and women to be textbook examples of unequal treatment.”

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Other courses offered to bridge the supposed diversity problem at Stanford include two one-unit physics courses that address not physics itself, but rather concepts of diversity within the discipline.

“Physics 94SI: Diverse Perspectives in Physics” is a seminar course in which “physics faculty members from diverse backgrounds share the story of their lives and careers.”

Physics majors can earn academic credit by learning “what it is like to be a female professor” or “a faculty member raised first-generation/low income.” The course takes place “over lunch” and consists of a discussion of the “lives and career trajectories” of various “diverse” professors.

A similar course, titled “Physics 93SI: Beyond the Laboratory: Physics, Identity and Society,” is led by students, rather than professors. In this course, physics majors can earn academic credit by generally exploring “issues of diversity and culture in physics,” by applying concepts such as “critical race theory.” An optional extension of the class allows students to receive additional credit for developing a workshop to teach high school students about “inclusion in science.”

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