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Brown CS Department Hiring Student Diversity, Inclusion Advocates
theodp writes: Brown University's Department of Computer Science is seeking to hire student advocates for diversity and inclusion as part of its new action plan to increase diversity. The new hires, who will also serve as members of the CS Diversity Committee, will support students, plan inclusion activities, and educate TAs on issues of diversity. Also on the diversity front, Brown touted last weekend's Hack@Brown, the school's annual student hackathon, as being "unlike any other hackathon" -- welcoming, inclusive, and inviting to students of all experience levels." A cynic might point out that Hack@Brown's tech giant sponsors boast track records that are quite the opposite. By the way, Brown@Hackathon certainly upped the ante on conference Codes of Conduct, warning that those anonymously-charged with making others feel uncomfortable on the basis of "gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof)" will be "expelled from the event without travel reimbursement at the discretion of the event organizers." Brown explained that travel reimbursements were provided to promote "economic diversity", ensuring that students who couldn't otherwise afford to get to and from Providence could attend the Ivy League event. Hey, what "economically diverse" kid wouldn't want to go to a conference where rubbing someone the wrong way could leave them stranded in Rhode Island!
>warning that those anonymously-charged with making others feel uncomfortable on the basis of "gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof)" will be "expelled from the event without travel reimbursement at the discretion of the event organizers."
Waitwaitwait. You mean if some Anonymous decides to make up some bullshit they can get anyone expelled without questions?
I imagine that only apply to people that aren't "diverse" enough or "equal" enough, or that would quickly become a problem.
Dear Mr. whiplash:
These diversity stories:
-have little, if anything, to do with technology (The sociology of the software industry is not itself technology.)
-attract outsiders from both sides with an agenda to push
-inspire a lot of vitriolic posts from both sides
-persuades no one and generates ill will from both extremes and the people who have a more centrist position
Can we simply not have these anymore? It may be good for attracting page impressions but it results such bad feeling among posters that it doesn't make business sense to allow them when you're trying to revive /.s fortunes.