Harper names panel members

By Tiffany Maggard

Daily Staff Reporter

Interim Vice President of Student Affairs E. Royster Harper announced yesterday the appointment of three senior faculty and staff members to form a panel to examine space allocation and the University's relationships with student groups.

The panel is in response to concerns raised by the Students of Color Coalition during their 37-day occupation of the Union tower, which contains the meeting space for the senior honor society Michigamua.

The panel consists of Patricia Gurin, a professor of psychology and women's studies and former interim dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts; Earl Lewis, dean of the Rackam School of Graduate Studies and professor of history; and Law and women's studies Prof. Christina Whitman.

"They are scholars. They are honest, highly respected and they will engage in a fair and open process," Harper said.

"There is a historian, a law professor and a psychology professor who has done extensive work around the issue of diversity. They will provide fair and sound judgment. They have the ability to listen. They are seasoned. They understand the issues," she said.

Harper said the exact details of how the group will function are uncertain. She said once the group meets for the first time, it will determine its operative procedures and how intimately it will work with concerned parties.

"What I will be recommending to the group is that they have very public meetings," she said.

"The president has asked them to hold a public forum and 'public hearings to solicit student, staff, faculty and community member input and whatever the panel deems appropriate,'" Harper said.

According to University President Lee Bollinger's statement sent to the campus community Feb. 25 via e-mail, the panel's responsibilities were limited to examining the administration's "policies and practices on space allocation for student groups with particular attention to the question of under what conditions, if any, a student organization should be entitled to space that is not subject to a periodic assignment process, review and potential reallocation."

In Bollinger's statement Monday, the responsibilities of the panel were broadened, requiring it to scrutinize "whether and to what extent associations between the University, its administrators or faculty can or have given rise to the impression that the University endorses racial or ethnic ridicule, and whether and to what extent those associations can or have contributed to marginalizing or to disenfranchising other groups or students."

Harper said the wider range of responsibility awarded to the panel is the result of SCC's concern for potential University ties with individual student organizations.

"We thought it was a valid concern they raised and decided to expand the scope of the panel," she said.

Harper said the panel has not set a date for its first meeting. Harper said she will not oversee the workings of the panel, but will instead "facilitate the process and remove any obstacles that will get in the way of the panel and the way it does its job." Such obstacles, she said, may be as simple as meeting space conflicts.

Whitman said she believes it is obvious that space allocation and the University's relationship with students is an important issue. She said her understanding of constitutional litigation and law will contribute to the panel.

The small size of the panel, she said, will allow it to depend more on the University community rather than the inner-workings of the group.

"The goal is to get a lot of input and come up with thoughtful resolutions really fast ... I understand my role is to try to have a really full range of ideas and make sure they are all heard," she said.

Because of the panel's reliance on community input, Whitman said it will function more as a "conduit instead of an ultimate decision-maker."

SCC spokeswoman Colette Routel said SCC told the administration that any panel process was not sufficient and the space allocation issue should have been decided immediately and without question.

Routel said despite the implementation of several SCC demands, including that the panel be responsible for scrutinizing University relationships with student groups and that the panel not meet during the summer, SCC members are divided in their trust in the panel process.

"Some people think it will have no effectiveness - that everything will remain the same. I have a little more trust in the panel. We plan on using the process. If it does not work, we will take other actions - we will take legal action.

"If Michigamua gets its space back, we will press legal action," Routel said.

Michigamua spokesman Nick Delgado said the group is trying to avoid politicking with SCC in the resolution process. But the panel's emphasis on public meetings may perpetuate an environment for political rhetoric, he said.

"We're not quit sure how far this panel will be able to distance itself from the political rhetoric that's been used ... but we do rest all our hope in the University and the panel for a fair and equitable process."

Delgado said as long as Michigamua has the opportunity to safely present its case, the process will be fair.

"When you depoliticize the issues here, Michigamua's case is valid," he said.

Routel said yesterday afternoon after heated negotiations, administrators complied with SCC's request to give keys to the Union tower to Jackie Simpson, student services associate at the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, and Shannon Martin, student services associate at the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, so they can monitor the tower's top three floors and ensure that no Michigamua and other tower society members regain access.