UC pushed to break legal ground by hiring immigrant students without work permits to create more than 250 new jobs, or by hiring nearly half a thousand more on campus last year.
The Associated Student Senate voted 5-2 in favor of the resolution, which cited the importance of ensuring the University’s diversity, saying it could help attract and retain a more diverse population and allow students to experience a campus that is “attractive to non-caucasian people.”
The resolution noted that the University was recognized by the federal government last fall as the only campus in the West to be granted temporary work permits for all students and employees. The resolution also noted that in the last year, the University has hired 250 immigrant undergraduates to perform clerical, retail or other nonacademic jobs.
The resolution also noted that the University had received $1.8 million to expand the Diversity and Inclusion Center — which is designed to increase collaboration with other students, faculty and staff.
“The University and its employees are in dire need of diversity recruiting to address challenges on a daily basis,” the resolution said. The Associated Students voted 3-0 in favor of the resolution, which highlighted the importance of increasing diversity as it continued to grow a student body that is 70 percent nonwhite.
“We want to create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive, and we look forward to working with our University to address any diversity training, recruiting or hiring needs,” said President John Robert Matier in a press release.
“The University has shown great leadership in addressing diversity and inclusivity in a new wave of immigration,” said the resolution’s co-sponsor, President Dr. Marla B. Anderson. “As our University works to provide a more welcoming and inclusive campus, we look forward to learning more about its plans for diversity recruitment and hiring and the diverse student population we hope to bring to campus.”