WEDNESDAY. SEPT. 19.2001
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7A
SenEx creates diversity committee
By Paul Smith Kansan staff writer
The Senate Executive Committee voted unanimously yesterday to establish a new committee on diversity in response to the dissolution of the Human Relations Committee last semester.
Jacob Gordon, associate professor of African and African-American studies, urged SenEx to reestablish a diversity committee and said he was upset that faculty allowed the dissolution of the original committee.
The Human Relations Committee was a standing committee of the University Senate that was charged with monitoring the state of human relations, or diversity issues, on campus.
The committee decided to dissolve itself last year, a proposal that received University Council and University
Senate endorsement. Its final reports indicated that committee members considered themselves obsolete because of administrative offices like the Equal Opportunity Office and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
"SenEx really was not studying those reports," said Gordon, former president of the University Council and Faculty Council. He said faculty were supposed to serve as role models for students.
"The function of a committee is not to take the function of the administrative units," he said, "but to support them so that the unit can obtain its objectives."
He called for a committee to assess diversity concerns on campus, ranging from the number of courses offered that deal with diversity issues to the recruitment of women and minorities.
The SenEx voted to establish a new committee on diversity following Gordon's comments. The committee doesn't have a formal name yet.
"The challenge is still there," Gordon said. "The problems of diversity on this campus and in this nation are not going to finish tomorrow."
Tom Mulinazzi, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and member of SenEx, introduced the motion for the committee. Mulinazzi said his own experiences as a professor and the mood of the campus after the last week's terrorist attacks showed the need for such a committee.
A SenEx subcommittee headed by student representative Jessica Bankston will determine charges, or the responsibilities, for the new committee.
Contact Smith at 864-4810
By Eve Lamborn
Kansan staff writer
Brittany Lee weaved between tables in the basement of Sellards Scholarship Hall passing out condoms to students last night.
Sex talk educates students
Lee, Derby senior, along with three fellow members of the Sexuality Education Committee, a student-run group, led a panel discussion titled "Sex in the Dorms." She said the purpose of the discussion was to educate about sexual issues college students faced.
About 30 students attended. The event was sponsored by the All Scholarship Hall Council.
They also presented statistics about date rape, sexually transmitted diseases and body image, and invited questions and comments from the audience.
"Our goal is to make people realize that it's OK to talk about sexuality," said Anne
The panel opened the discussion with stories involving roommate sexual etiquette.
Marie Kauffman, Overland Park senior and member of the committee.
Renzo Hayashi, Rio, Brazil graduate student and committee president, said the only requirement for joining the committee was to participate in a committee-sponsored activity.
"We're just regular students who bring our own experiences," he said.
Elizabeth Beavers, Ames, Iowa sophomore, said the panel discussed issues relevant to KU students.
"It's important information people should be aware of when they come to college," she said.
The Sexuality Education Committee took its program to Naismith Hall on Sunday night and Hashinger Hall on Monday night. The committee plans to sponsor a homophobia workshop later this semester.
Contact Lamborn at 864-4810
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