61-141 Introduction to Journalism and Mass Communication class (Lim)
In the Intro to Journalism and Mass Communication class, we addressed diversity, such as thought, race or culture, as part of the regular material. We watched The Shadow of Hate: A History of Intolerance in America. The Oscar-nominated film for short documentary traces the history of racial, religious, and social intolerance in the United States. The film uses case studies from memoirs, eyewitness accounts, archival photographs and documents. My students, many for the first time, learned how American society discriminated against Jews, African-Americans, Chinese, Irish, Native Americans, and Baptists in the United States. We then had a powerful discussion about how intolerance is alive and well in the U.S. and how we have to continually fight it. Also this semester, we watched a film called "The Hobart Shakespeareans," a documentary about a fifth-grade class in inner-city Los Angeles. In this particular class, none of the students spoke English as his or her home language. But these students, many of whom have been written off by former teachers as a lost cause, perform Hamlet internationally. I use this award-winning documentary to show my students that even though society often puts labels on people, we as journalists need to disregard such labels.

61-413 Feature Writing (Lim)
In the Feature Writing class, we had Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane share his experiences as a black writer for a metropolitan paper. Mr. Kane is known for tackling hot issues such as race and violence. In the same class, we also had New York Times health columnist Tara Parker-Pope via teleconference share her views as a reporter covering health issues for women, blacks and the poor.

61-341 Media and Society (Gleason)
The class textbook addresses media representation of people of diversity, as well as media productions by audience members. Examples of this is how Star Trek fans have created their own texts with gay themes and how diverse groups use internet forums to discuss issues relevant to them.

The department provided funding and additional support for a campus visit by Stanley Crouch on “Blues for America,” Feb. 28, 2008. Mr. Crouch is an author and columnist with expertise in jazz music. In addition to his university-wide public speaking presentation, Mr. Crouch spoke to Miles Maguire’s Reporting class.

The department provided funding and additional support, along with the African-American Studies program, for a panel discussion on race and the media, held at Reeve Union on April 10, 2008. The speakers were: Victor Huyke, editor of El Conquistador newspaper in Milwaukee; Eugene Kane, a Metro columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Susanne Rust, a science reporter for the Journal Sentinel; and Matthew Johnson, director of the Strive Media Institute in Milwaukee. The panelists discussed the topic “The Role of News Media in Reporting on Poverty and Race in Urban Areas.” A grant received by Mike Cowling and Tish Crawford held to fund this symposium and panel discussion. In addition to the panel discussion, Mr. Kane spoke separately to a group of journalism students about the topic of affirmative action.

Some sessions on diversity again were offered during the NEWSPA conference in April 2008.

Mike Cowling assigned his spring 2008 Law of Mass Communication students to write a paper on affirmative action and higher education. The students were required to read several important Supreme Court decisions related to affirmative action, attended two presentations on campus featuring minority speakers, were required to review university and UW System policies on affirmative action, and to interview someone representing a minority group.

Professor Cowling spent a week in New Orleans, from May 24-31, 2008, as part of a group of professional journalists assisting at The New York Times Student Journalism Institute at Dillard University. Cowling served as copy desk chief for the group of 24 college students, most of them from traditionally black colleges and universities. Cowling and the other professional journalists supervised the production of a 20-page newspaper and a Web site, www.nytimes-institute.com.