LEWISTON – More than 200 Bates College students forged a list of possible solutions for dealing with racism at a forum Wednesday night.
After an hour of frank and spirited discussion in about 15 small groups, the students presented their principal concerns and suggestions. Topmost were calls for better orientation programs, better communication from administration to students, better diversity training for staff and security personnel and establishment of “safe zones.”
The gathering at the college chapel spotlighted several areas of discord resulting from recent incidents on campus including graffiti on buildings and perceived racial profiling by security personnel.
James Reese, associate dean of students, was the principal facilitator for the meeting which followed several days of increasing agitation among students. Bates administrators offered students a chance to express those feelings of unrest on writing boards – easels with poster paper – at several locations. Those sheets were posted on the walls of the Bates Chapel to serve as discussion starters for the meeting.
One of the writers said, “I think a dangerous situation is emerging on campus where justified outrage at recent incidents is causing some on campus to mimic racist attitudes even as they decry them.”
Several students said it took courage to write the messages and personal stories, and a facilitator said, “You have to make it an everyday kind of courage.”
Reese asked students to focus their ideas on “concrete solutions that can be implemented immediately or in the near future.”
Bates College President Elaine Tuttle Hansen was present but did not speak. She sat with one of the groups, offered some comments and information, and took notes throughout the discussion.
At the conclusion of the breakout sessions, reporters of the 15 groups summarized their discussions. A majority of those attending were female students, and there appeared to be about 20 percent attendance by students of color.
Among concerns raised were how to deal with inappropriate speech and jokes by students, the need for social justice classes in the curriculum, and the need to eliminate anonymous e-mail and Web site postings.
One group reported that they would recommend “controversial dialogues” in which a group would meet in a closed room and stay together “yelling it all out” until they reached some resolution.
Another reporter said some students question the meeting on racial problems and see it as keeping a wound open. She said it’s not an open wound, but a process of healing that leads to a scar, and that scar reminds people of the damage hate can do.
More funding the for the chaplain’s office was another recommendation.
Liz Tobin, special assistant to the president, said college is a good place to deal with issues of diversity because “students are at different stages of dealing with each other.”
She said the problems under discussion do not reflect an unusual incidence of racial strife, and she said it is not an instance of campus and community conflict.
Reese agreed, saying such gatherings are needed every few years to focus on problems and try to develop faster responses.
Not all students were pleased, though.
Zak Ray and Teo Barros, co-coordinators of a campus organization called Amandla, said in a written statement, “We feel that breaking up into small groups tonight was a bad idea as a mass of the people heading the groups were either not informed or misinformed or underinformed about the true nature of this situation.”
They said they have proposed solutions in the past, and as recently as Saturday.
“We need an ad hoc committee to be formed immediately to deal with carrying out these solutions,” they said.
Amandla will call another meeting soon “with the affected students being panel members,” they said.
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