The Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate discussed alternative student opinions on diversity, equity and inclusion and heard a presentation on combating drug overdose during their meeting on March 5.
Student opinions on DEI
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Sen. Benjamin Jackson presented a report to express concerns about DEI and ASUA. Particularly, his concerns rested with ASUA accurately representing dissenting opinions on DEI from some students, specifically white male students. The contents of the report were not open for discussion; however, other senators were told that they could write their own reports on the subject to present in future meetings.
Jackson recognized that recent executive orders and rollbacks from universities on DEI initiatives have led to some strong feelings from fellow senators. Jackson said that a lot of the senators have passionately defended DEI as a vital part of the community at the UA.
Jackson described the importance of having a diversity of opinion and stated that ASUA could “do a little better with that,” he said. Jackson said that he spoke with student peers who had questioned the fairness of DEI policies.
In his report, Jackson first narrowed in on one particular issue: the Men of Color Initiative. The initiative was created to help men from African American, Latino and other communities of color graduate at higher rates and offered cultural center support.
“The goal of this initiative is admirable, but it leaves one group entirely left out, that obviously being white men,” Jackson said. Jackson continued to describe data showing that white men at the UA were not far ahead and also struggled with graduation rates. Jackson said that despite this data, “DEI only focuses on some men, ignoring the fact that struggling exists in students from all backgrounds.”
“If the goal is equity here, why are we only addressing part of the problem?” Jackson said.
Jackson continued by sharing student concerns that DEI was not adequately reflecting the hardships that white men are facing at universities. To back up this opinion, he mentioned that upper-class white students do not face the same struggles as other white students who come from underserved backgrounds.
“When we base resources on race alone, we reinforce harmful stereotypes instead of breaking them down. We assume that every student of color needs help and no white student does.” Jackson said. He added that these types of programs “aren’t equity, but rather are profiling.”
Jackson wrapped up his report by saying that white male students are “completely invisible to our current system,” and he said that “it’s selective favoritism dressed up as justice.”
In his closing statements, Jackson said he respected other senators’ strong feelings of protecting DEI, but is worried that the ASUA Senate is an echo chamber.
“Our students deserve a senate that hears all sides, not just from one perspective,” Jackson said.
Presentation on combating drug overdose from TACO
ASUA also heard a presentation concerning the prevention and management of drug overdose from Team Awareness Combating Overdose.
The presentation was led by W.A. Franke Honors College Sen. Aparna Chandrasekar and Nicholas Ward, the president of TACO. Ward first discussed the overall mission of TACO as a way for students to become more informed and make safe decisions about substance use.
“We don’t encourage or discourage any form of use, we just want people to stay safe and stay informed,” Ward said. TACO is a nonprofit organization started by collegiate students at the University of Southern California and has since expanded to other universities. 100% of donations to the organization go to the production and distribution of fentanyl test strips.
Every week, the UA chapter of the organization posts a TACO Tuesday informational piece on their Instagram. These posts are completely backed by science and provide helpful context for college students to know, such as the effects of mixing different drugs.
“So many accidental overdose deaths can be prevented if the information regarding harm reduction is more accessible to the public,” Chandrasekar said.
According to TACO’s presentation, for every one fentanyl test strip, three to five lives can be saved. TACO provides important information on looking for overdose signs, testing substances and being safe about substance use.
Fentanyl overdose is the number one cause of death for those between 18 and 45 years old. Chandrasekar detailed that since 2017, there have been 306 overdoses involving fentanyl in Tucson Central (50 in 2023) and 479 in Tucson South (62 in 2023). 9 out of 10 overdose deaths result from the combined use of multiple drugs.
Chandrasekar added that the drugs individuals are taking are often not what they think. She also said that students should be utilizing the chocolate chip cookie test when it comes to drug testing. This theory explains how it’s best to test every portion of the substance. If there is fentanyl in a stash, it’s normally not evenly distributed.
Finally, Ward urged that if you see someone having signs of an overdose, it is always better to be safe and call 911. In the state of Arizona, there is a Good Samaritan Law, which offers legal protection to individuals who help in a medical emergency, even if they were involved in illegal drug use.
Chandrasekar closed out by explaining that TACO “doesn’t believe that drug use or addictions are moral issues” and continued that removing the stigma around substance abuse is what helps to mitigate overdoses.
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