We write to Chancellor Sharon Gaber and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte urging them to require all incoming freshmen and transfer students to take a course on race and racism as part of their general education requirements. 

In her welcoming message to the university, Chancellor Sharon Gaber said that she is “committed to evaluating our systems, policies, and practices to ensure that our University is fostering an inclusive environment that is free from systemic racist barriers.” Developing a required university-wide course on race and racism would be a great first step in moving toward her vision.

Currently, there is not a university-wide required course on racism. As a result, many students graduate with little to no knowledge of systemic racism and the large role it plays in both the Charlotte community and our nation. As a campus with one of the most diverse student bodies in the UNC system we have the opportunity to teach and transform the future generations of citizens and leaders. While a course on race and racism would not wholly solve the structural issues we face as a community, we know that it is a step in the right direction to combat ignorance and create an inclusive environment. 

There are several models developed by other universities that will serve as a guide in the development of this course. The course would be an interdisciplinary collaboration between multiple departments and would result in a shared experience among UNC Charlotte students. We also understand the importance of discussion, and the course should have small class sizes and be interactive.

As a result of this course, we hope that graduates of UNC Charlotte will have an increased awareness of the systemic racism that occurs within our city, nation, and the world, providing them the resources and knowledge to make a change in their own spheres of influence. In addition, we hope students will become more comfortable with having these tough but critical conversations so that they are able to recognize racism in their communities. Lastly, we believe by requiring students to have necessary conversations regarding race and systemic racism, we will begin to see a decrease in race-based discrimination on our campus and in our communities.

We urge Chancellor Sharon Gaber and the faculty of UNC Charlotte to make this change to general education. We cannot speak out about an issue and then sit back and hope our words will instigate change; only actions can do that. So, we urge UNC Charlotte to change the general education requirements but, even beyond that, to use the university’s platform to make change. 

The content above has been taken and slightly modified from Stephanie Klein's UF petition. Please consider signing and sharing both petitions.