'U' officials, students to discuss race issues

Due to what some minority students describe as lackadaisical and sometimes non-existent responses from the University administration to recent incidents of alleged racial discrimination, a group of minority students has scheduled a meeting with University officials for Monday.

The group will consist of five representatives from minority student groups, who will meet with administrators, including Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford. Each of the groups holds similar concerns.

Minority students cite the University's slow response to LSA sophomore Dale Winling's campaign to become a representative on the Michigan Student Assembly, which featured a poster of the white Winling with his fist in the air and a caption stating he is a white male with black pride.

Winling later called it a joke, but some minority groups are not laughing.

Hartford, who was approached by minority students for a meeting, said the poster bordered on being racist.

"The posters were all tasteless, and one was very offensive and racially insensitive," Hartford said.

Hartford said the University cannot take legal action against Winling.

The other incidents that the minority students said they want to address are the swastikas and the sexually and racially offensive statements written on the doors of some minority residents in Mary Markley Residence Hall.

"They have yet to respond to the Markley incidents," said Kenneth Jones, co-chair of MSA's Minority Affairs Commission.

Minority Affairs Commission Co-Chair Diana Derige described the University climate for minorities as "hostile."

"Students of color do not feel safe on this campus," said Derige, co-chair of Alianza.

Derige said attention to the lawsuits that target the University's use of race as a factor in the admissions process is an excuse for some non-minorities "to voice their rage against people of color."

Jones said the problem of discrimination existed on campus before the lawsuits were filed against the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and the Law School.

Jones was involved in setting up the meeting, which he said has been necessary for a long time.

"We've been trying to set up a meeting with Maureen (Hartford) all year," Jones said.

"It wasn't until we sent out press releases and got public pressure that we got the response we wanted," Jones said.

Jones said the students want to talk to Hartford because she is the liason between students and administrators and therefore is accountable for the unsatisfactory responses by the University.

Hartford suggested that Dean of Students E. Royster Harper, Director of Housing William Zeller and Associate Dean of Students Frank Cianciola may be in attendance.

Harper said she would "be happy to attend" if invited.

Derige said the meeting is "essential" and its goal is to make Hartford more accessible to students of color and to draw up a plan of action regarding these racial issues on campus.

"It's not just about venting," Derige said.

Hartford said the meeting will be "a chance to listen more than to talk."

04-16-98