In the world today, it is unacceptable that so many people are uneducated in issues & history  regarding race and ethnicity. It should be a requirement at Texas A&M to implement classes that address these topics, where students must take and receive a passing grade in order to graduate.

Of course, TAMU does have culture requirements to meet. However, “culture” covers a lot of ground—food, dance, music, art, language, just to name a few. I and so many others fulfill this requirement without having a single conversation about race and instead learn about the aforementioned topics.

While TAMU does indeed offer classes to promote racial discourse, we cannot expect 18-22 year olds to 1) do the research to register for this as an elective on their own 2) realize the gravity of the importance of educating themselves about something such as this.

Some majors, like engineering, have little wiggle room for electives, which would make it more difficult to require adding a class centering on race into their degree plans. However, each student at TAMU regardless of major is required to take 2 History courses and 2 political science courses. Replacing one of these requirements with a more race-centered course would be highly beneficial. 

By signing this petition, you are urging TAMU to look at potential ways and avenues to create, implement, and require classes such as these to replace 1 three-hour credit in each degree plan so that Aggie Grads leave College Station more empathetic, more culturally/socially educated, and more apt to change the world.