The Oracle
M O N DAY, O C T O B E R 1 , 2 0 1 8 I VO L . 5 6 N O . 1 1
www.usforacle.com
U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F L O R I DA
Florida schools flunk in diversity report USF received an ‘F’ in representation equity for black students. Those same students are shocked.
According to Paul Dosal, vice president of Student Affairs and Student Student Success, the failing grade could be due to the study not including transfer students. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
By Matthew Cutillo S T A F F
W R I T E R
USF Tampa joined eight other Florida universities in receiving an “F” grade in representation equity — black students’ share of enrollment in undergraduate population compared to Florida’s general population of 18 to 24 year
olds — in a study conducted by The University of Southern California’s (USC) Race and Equity Center. The study included the ranking of 13 Florida schools in terms of representation, gender and completion equity — the extent to which black students’ graduation rates match overall six year
graduation rates — as well as blackstudent to black-faculty ratio. Although USF scored an “A” and “B” in gender and completion equity, the failing grade stands out to students for its inconsistency compared to grades of other categories. Eight other state universities
in Florida received an “F” grade, including UCF, Florida and USF’s St. Petersburg and SarasotaManatee campuses. Often touting itself as one of the most diverse schools in the state, the negative ranking came as a surprise to USF students and faculty alike.
“We remain committed to building and supporting a diverse student body,” Genshaft said in Sept. 5 at her Fall Address. “This is our responsibility as a metropolitan public university — to provide not only access to higher education, but
n See EQUITY on PAGE 3
USF staff members ordered to complete sexual assault training
By Leda Alvim
C O R R E S P O N D E N T
The Division of Human Resources is taking steps toward the prevention of discrimination and harassment in the workplace by providing a mandatory sexual harassment training for all USF employees. A letter from Human
Resources was sent out on Sept. 18 requiring that all employees complete the Sexual Harassment Prevention Training by Oct. 31. According to Donna Keener, assistant vice president of Human Resources, the training will help increase the level of awareness of sexual harassment in the USF community and make
sure that the university is being proactive regarding the topic. “With this training, we want to increase the level of awareness, be proactive and educate our community on awareness and prevention methods,” Keener said. “It’s always beneficial for an organization to educate their community on this topic.”
The training covers the definition of sexual harassment, identifies potentially harassing behaviors and explains USF policies and how to report such behaviors. According to the letter, it will serve as a helpful tool for all staff and faculty to understand their roles and responsibilities in the prevention
of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The sexual harassment prevention training is being offered for the first time as an online course for all staff and faculty. In years past, Human Resources offered a typical
n See TRAINING on PAGE 3