UC Strike Latest | Cal Poly SLO Diversity Investigation | Holiday Etiquette

The latest updates on the UC Strike, one the largest academic strikes in higher education in American history. A new report from CalMatters shows that Cal Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo enrolls the lowest rate of black students among all of California’s public universities. An etiquette expert shares her social “dos” and “don’ts” this holiday season. 

UC strike

A work stoppage by University of California graduate workers, postdoctoral students and researchers has slowed work across the 10 UC campuses. Many are calling it the largest strike in the history of higher education in America. Although a tentative agreement was reached between the UC and its postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers, those employees won’t resume their work in solidarity with the academic student employees and student researchers who still don’t have a contract. The strike's outcome could have major impacts on higher education in California and the workforce it relies upon. CapRadio Reporter Janelle Salanga joined Insight to share their reporting and provide the latest on this nearly month-long strike. 

Cal Poly SLO diversity investigation

According to California State University, the higher education system educates the most racially, ethnically, economically, and academically diverse student body in the nation. However, an investigative series found the data without context can be misleading and overshadow room for improvement, particularly with Black and African American students. Mikhail Zinshteyn covers higher education for CalMatters and Insight spoke with to discuss his ongoing series titled, "Lagging behind: Cal State's education of Black students." We focused specifically on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which Mikhail found is the only public university in the state where more than half of undergraduate students are white. He also found Cal Poly has the lowest enrollment of Black undergraduates out of any Cal State or UC campus, enrolling just 146 Black students out of a student body of more than 20,000, that's less than one percent. Mikhail shared how this gap ultimately shapes campus culture and the college experience.   

Holiday etiquette

For better or for worse, December can be packed with socializing. Holiday parties of all types and sizes can fill the month, which means the opportunity for fun, but also perhaps some uncomfortable moments. Rosalinda Oropeza Randall is an etiquette and civility expert. She joined Insight to help us navigate holiday gatherings with ease, which can be easier said than done.