It was with some surprise that I followed the Tribune`s reports of the dissatisfaction of minority students at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Higher education in America needs to be more responsive to these student concerns.
I want to acknowledge, however, that the UIC recently helped a colleague and myself (both from a suburban college), teachers from Chicago high schools and grade schools and various students re-think important questions. The ”UIC Conference on Culture and Canon-1990” was sponsored by the English department, free to all city teachers, and was poorly attended.
Several national leaders in the movement to reconstruct American literature spoke; names and addresses of journals devoted to black, Asian-American or Native American literature were given; and several helpful bibliographies were generously prepared and distributed by UIC faculty.
None of this is to suggest that the students halt their agitation; it is to suggest that the UIC has a unique opportunity to help the city face questions of multicultural cooperation. The October conference was one sign that the UIC recognizes and is pursuing that task.
