# @chapelboronews on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DEf_nunPHP8
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/25847275-chapelboronews-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/fba61e55b8.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-01-06T21:52:39.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Chapelboro.com (@chapelboronews) — https://gondola.cc/chapelboronews

## Caption

During 97.9 The Hill's recent Forum On The Hill series, a pair of UNC professors shared their perspectives on the push in higher education to phase out racial equity language in admissions, policies and – even – teaching. They also shared fears of a focus solely on students getting a higher "return on investment" for their education, where they are pushed only higher-paying professions.

But experts in education say it is the immeasurable lessons that actually make people more successful in the long run – especially in fields you might not expect, like medicine.

“We are obligated by our accreditation authorities to discuss inequities, health disparities, structural violence, structural vulnerability, so our students are prepared to provide informed, empathic, up-to-date care,” says Sue Estroff, who teaches social medicine at UNC and sits on the university’s faculty executive committee. “And the idea that the central tenets of our curriculum are somehow to be erased, from the kind of education that health professionals for the next generation need, is pretty daunting.”

Meg Zomorodi agrees. She also sits on the faculty executive committee – and she teaches at the UNC School of Nursing, where she says it is essential for students to learn how to empathize with patients who walk in the door.

“We’re trying to talk about ways that we can engage patients, ways that we can manage conflict amongst the team, and (equity) creeps up in those dialogues, because it needs to,” she says.

Zomorodi and Estroff say the pushback against discussing equity can have a significant negative impact on academic freedom, just as much in medical school as in any other field.

And as the spring semester begins, they also agree that the most impactful things one can learn in a classroom often have no direct impact on the amount of money a student will end up making in their career. But those lessons do make students better able to provide for the patients, the clients, the customers, and the fellow human beings they will serve.

Tap the link in our bio to read the full story and listen to the full Forum On The Hill panel.

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#unc #uncchapelhill #highereducation #racialequity

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## Tags

uncchapelhill, racialequity, highereducation, unc

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