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TOWN HALL FROM PAGE 1
As Gray-Little tried to wrap up the meeting, the group stood on stage behind her with posters expressing their concerns.
The posters listed 15 demands, including banning concealed carry on campus, hiring an Office of Multicultural Affairs director by December, creating a Multicultural Student Government separate from Student Senate, and a plan of action from the University by Jan. 19, 2016.
at the meeting.
Others who spoke at the meeting called for a change in retention rates. In the class of 2014, 43.1 percent of white students graduated in four years, and 15.5 percent of African-Americans graduated, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.
Gray-Little said retention rates for all students are a major University focus. She said the current rates are unacceptable.
"There's no reason I have to know your history,but you don't have to know mine," the student said.
Although several members of the audience discussed a need for more inclusive classrooms, some discussed a lack of awareness within the community. An audience member said that not knowing about these problems is not an excuse.
One student asked for African American Studies or Latino Studies to be a required class rather than an elective.
"It's our job to learn," she said. "It's not a person of color's job to teach us."
Clarence Lang, chair for the department of African and African American Studies, said staff members need to take a critical look at the University.
"I think that part of the issue — part of it, not the whole of it
— is that we have to take a hard look at how our faculty and our staff look at this University, because I think these things are connected," Lang said.
Several audience members critiqued the University for having a tendency to
Administrators came to talk about the issues at hand; students, faculty and staff came to act.
ask questions and facilitate discussions but not take further action.
Gray-Little was at the meeting to listen to student, faculty and staff concerns. She often addressed concerns with questions like, "What does taking responsibility mean? What does it look like?"
Katherine Rainey presents Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk's list of demands at the meeting. COURTNEY VARNEY/KANSAN
Gray-Little specifically addressed demands from Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk as something she would look into and discuss with other staff and faculty members.
COURTNEY VARNEY/KANSAN of demands at the meeting.
Many of the people who spoke at the town hall meeting voiced concerns that University leaders are not ensuring equality on campus. For one member of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk, the town hall discussion was gravely overdue.
"It's embarrassing," the student said. "There are so many of you in this room
see the cultural insensitivity, and that happens in my department and that shouldn't," Soto said. "I am a student here. I am an instructor here. I do not feel safe here.
"I want to do something," she said. "I agree with most of what has been said."
"I will not stand for it. I will be going to the head of my department about it, because I'm incredibly angry about it, and it has gone too far."
Shawn Alexander professor
"We are here. We are aware. We are powerful, and you cannot keep pushing us away."
ROCK CHALK INVISIBLE HAWK
— myself included. I am not exempt — who should be embarrassed that year after year after year, that this dialogue that we've been trying to introduce for years has not come until now.
"You all have waited until lives have been lost. We have been hurt, stepped on, spit on. Anything you can speak of has happened before we've had this dialogue, and it's been years in the making."
Francis Soto, a teaching assistant in the communications department, said she is tired of seeing systemic racism in her department.
"When I am asked by a colleague of mine to speak in a Spanish accent because it's funny, I see the racism, and I
"We have programs, we have these things, we're not getting the job done," Alexander said. "In my time here, you keep coming back to us, saying we need to hear stories.
of African and African American Studies, called the chancellor's response to injustices "window dressing."
"These stories have been here. I've been here for eight years. I hear them every single day. They have been here. You have been here, but we have fired two football coaches for not getting the job done."
Quaram Robinson, a sophomore, criticized the chancellor for not responding to the demands of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk.
"People came up. They made demands. Those demands were
not promised to be met. That is why black demands cannot be made in a conversational zone, because there's no conversation," Robinson said. "There's a demand, and then the demand is sanitized."
One student accused the University administration of purposefully avoiding change.
"Yes, we acknowledge that the University has responded to us, but these responses have consistently served no real purpose except to derail any change;" the student said. "The University of Kansas administration has consistently evaded addressing actual issues."
Sam Reed, a sophomore from San Francisco, addressed the chancellor directly, voicing his frustration at the lack of change occurring on campus.
"There's people at this school being oppressed, and can you honestly tell me that these universities care about these students? Because to me and many people in this room, we don't. We really do not," Reed said. "Until there is some kind of tangible change — something happens — then nothing will change. We'll be having the same, stupid meeting 10 years from now, and that's the reality whether we want it or not. We can chit-chat and have all these dumb conversations. But if nothing actually changes, it's all pointless."
Discussion rounded out toward the end of the evening
with many audience members calling for action from students, administration, faculty and staff.
"I think that faculty has a job to do," Lang said. "I think that administrators have a job to do. I think the staff has a job to do. I think this falls on any one individual or any one office."
Nicole Hodges Persley assistant professor and director of theatre graduate studies said the need to address racism falls to everyone.
"Responsibility looks like every faculty and every staff member is required to understand and be trained in some aspect of diversity. We are all responsible. We are all reporters. If you see something, you should say something, and not just say something, you should do something, and that's why we're all here," Hodges Persley said.
Gray-Little concluded by thanking everyone for sharing their ideas. She said she is committed to working with the community to address issues of race, inequality and justice.
"I know that, as a University, there are a lot of things that we need to do, a lot of things that we have to do, and I am dedicated to making changes, to make this a place that is more welcoming — that is, confirming all of the identities of the different people and groups of people that we have here.
"I'll make that commitment, to you, to work with you."
SENATE FROM PAGE 1
cap increase] will negatively affect me. This will almost guarantee that I am not able to run. I cannot compete with my white counterparts', does not mean you were right," Rainey said. "Flat out — Student Senate was wrong."
She said Senate has also failed to represent minority students.
"It is clear [Student Senate] is not going to get anything done that benefits multicultural students," Rainey said. "Every time we have to ask, we have to bust in the doors and cry and show pain and sacrifice ourselves just for a little bit, and we're not going to do that. We have asked, we have had conversations, we have spoken time and time again, and they have made it clear they are not going to advocate for us in the way that we need."
Rainey said Student Senate needs to think about the minority population on campus when addressing issues in the future.
"Start thinking of us as people and not political decisions. This is not 'House of Cards', these are real people's lives you are dealing with," Rainey said. "Think about those things when you are in these rooms making these decisions, because that is all we
are fighting for."
Rainey added that if administration does not meet these demands by Jan. 19, Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk will "raise hell."
Over all, the meeting was tense and passionate. Members of Senate were swearing at each other, accusing each other of misdeeds and speaking over each other. Several senators directed aggressive comments at both Student Body President Jessie Pringle and Student Body Vice President Zach George throughout the meeting.
"Student Rights voted tonight to show support for #RockChalkInvisibleHawk and their 15 demands to create a more inclusive community," Student Senate said in a statement after the meeting. "We look forward to continuing the conversation in full Senate next week."
Eventually, the committee passed two resolutions — one saying the Rights Committee supports Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk's demands, and the other promising that full Senate would see the first resolution next week.
Conner Mitchell contributed to this report.
Check Kansan.com for more coverage of the town hall meeting.
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