The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

The Student News Site of Macalester College

The Mac Weekly

All Around the Liberal Arts: domestic diversity edition

By Marissa Warden and Matt Won

University of PhoenixCounselors at the University of Phoenix will receive $1.9 million in a settlement for their lawsuit charging that the university and the Apollo Group, Inc. discriminated against employees who were not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The lawsuit charged that Mormon counselors received better information on prospective students than non-Mormons. The lawsuit also contends that Mormon counselors who were less qualified were promoted before more qualified non-Mormon counselors. The university was also alleged to have granted tuition waivers to Mormon employees who did not meet registration goals, while retaining the waivers from non-Mormon workers.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, a court-enforced agreement dictates that the University of Phoenix and the Apollo Group will divide the settlement among 52 people, with the amount awarded per person determined by the level of discrimination the individual experienced. The university will also adopt a zero tolerance policy for religious discrimination.

In a written statement, the Apollo Group denied any misconduct and said that the “University of Phoenix is committed to providing equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.”

St. Olaf

St. Olaf’s Manitou Messenger reported Nov. 7 on special guest speaker Sandra Littlejohn, a 1982 graduate, with an article entitled “Modernity challenges tradition.”

She spoke Oct. 28 to close the events of Native American Weeks, an annual Carleton focus on indigenous issues.

The events marked a brief contrast to the invisibility of indigenous students in higher education, including at small liberal arts colleges like Macalester, where they are not heavily recruited and are often few in number.

The newspaper spoke with an on-campus organizer.

“I wanted to show other students how the lives of Native Americans are just like the lives of other Americans,” Diversity Celebrations Committee Chair Daniel Plunkett said. “It is important to do all of this while at the same time maintaining a strong connection to their culture.'”

Littlejohn spoke on a variety of topics, including the advancing networking and communication between indigenous people in the United States.

Littlejohn, a trained nurse, addressed the Native American Weeks theme of “The Contemporary Native American” with real talk on issues like diabetes and the mixed impact of gaming on indigenous communities, which she said brought income but also drugs and violence.

The Messenger reported that “Littlejohn’s lecture was part of Native American Weeks, which included several events from a performance from Larry Yazzie and his nine-year-old son, Jessup, to speakers addressing contemporary issues, all designed to celebrate and spread awareness of Native American culture.

“We can only hope that the increased communication Littlejohn spoke about might increase the resources and visibility devoted to on-campus indigenous students at other schools as well.

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