Clinton supports 'U' race-relations

The University's affirmative action programs have recently come under attack, but at least one important figure, President Clinton, has given praise to a University race-relations program.

As part of Clinton's Initiatives on Race, the White House Website named 14 "Promising Practices" that are designed to improve race relations and build a sense of national unity.

The University's Program on Intergroup Relations, Conflict and Community is one of just two higher education programs featured on the Website.

"There is a true effort for diversity in this program," said David Chai, a staffer in Clinton's Initiative on Race office. "Their operations are all ways that we thought were extremely positive. Managed conflict is very important."

The Intergroup Relations, Conflict and Community program began in 1988, as an effort to open dialogue between cultural boundaries. The program offers classes and seminars that foster discussion between races.

"Students who participate are well prepared to work in a diverse society," said Assistant LSA Dean for Undergraduate Education David Schoem, an IRCC professor. "Students are much more ready and able to negotiate conflict situations in constructive ways."

In addition to naming the 14 promising practices, Clinton is holding town meetings on race problems across the country. Chai said the first forum will take place Wednesday, Dec. 3, in a "yet-to-be-named" location in the Midwest.

Chai would not speculate if the University will be the site of the meeting.

"It's not ruled out, but I don't know if it is a definite possibility," Chai said.

Chai said the list that names IRCC is the first of many ways the Clinton Administration will recognize efforts across the country.

At the University, there are three types of IRCC classes: first-year seminars, which enroll about 250 students per year and focus on research and dialogue about racial and ethnic differences; intergroup dialogue classes; and upper-level seminars.

Many students who participated in IRCC classes said they benefitted from the experience.

"It was an excellent class," said LSA sophomore Heather Pacini, who took an IRCC class in Fall 1996. "It really opened my eyes up to different cultures."

For her final project, Pacini wrote a term paper about how to improve race relations on campus.

Engineering sophomore Robert Green, who also took an IRCC class last fall, said he acquired "more understanding of diverse environments" from the class.

Green and other members of his class continued to work toward a goal of understanding diversity after the class ended.

They founded Students United for Multicultural Initiatives, a group that works to foster diverse environments on campus.

SUMI is working on a variety of projects, including, among other things, efforts to coordinate student and community groups to assure major activities do not occur at the same time.

IRCC, which was at the top of Clinton's list of 14 initiatives, has been used as a prototype for similar programs at colleges and universities nationwide.

"There have been campuses that use the University as a model," Schoem said.

IRCC classes provide the stable and consistent atmosphere that helps to foster open and important dialogue, Schoem said.

"Students are seeking opportunities and structured settings in which they can cross these boundaries," Schoem said. "If more were available, it would be great. It's challenging to move out of one's comfort zone.

"But the benefits are enormous," Schoem continued. "They feel tremendously empowered to see what a multicultural society can be like."

The Clinton administration has used the Internet to convey many messages about its race initiative.

"The Internet offers new and powerful opportunities for people of different backgrounds to connect with one another," Vice President Al Gore said in a written statement.

"The boundaries of race, gender and class that often divide us as Americans, become less relevant in this new Information age."

The Website for the President's Initiative on Race can be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica.

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