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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.102.NO.75
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9.1992
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Plans draw new attention to minorities
By Mark Martin
Kansan staff writer
A recent proposal by the African American Student Concerns Task Force and a resolution passed by Student Senate three weeks ago have rekindled debate concerning the creation of an administrative position responsible for cultural affairs.
Administrators say they are looking into the recommendations, but many minority students at the University of Kansas wonder whether their concerns are really ever heard.
"It seems like nothing will be done with this until students make some noise about it," said Peter Braithwaite, off-campus student senator and member of the African American Student Concerns Task Force.
Braithwaite pointed out that in 1980, a task force recommended that the University create a new position to oversee minority affairs on campus.
That position was never created.
Braithwaite co-wrote the Senate resolution this year, which demanded that the Office of Minority Affairs, which operates within the division of student affairs, be moved up to operate within the executive vice chancellor's office. The resolution also calls for elevating the OMA director to assistant or associate vice chancellor status.
Some think raising OMA's status would allow it to be more effective. Hispanic students have complained that the OMA has been insensitive to their needs and lacks Hispanic resources such as magazines and journals. Most say that with an expanded role, the OMA could serve primary
that with an expanded role, the OMA could serve minors students better
"The problem with the office currently is the come there with problems they're having on c that office has no power to change policies," said. "They can just make suggestions. We're that the office needs more respect on campu power."
Tim Dawson, chairperson of Student Senate affairs committee and the co-author of the Serion, said that the OMA was lost in the shuffle office was too low in KU's organizational struc
"Right now they have to go through too many get anything done," he said. "They have to go to student life, then to the vice chancellor for student affairs, and then back to school before people at the top even hear about them."
Before 1987, OMA worked within the chancellor and the director reported straight to the chancellor was moved into the student affairs divisic stands now.
David Ambler, vice chancellor for student at the office was moved to student affairs because determined that the office's main function w with students.
Moving the office to student affairs would a contact with students and with other offices is not possible.
"The University is carefully studying the re- force report," he said. "One of their recommendation to create a University-wide council that could c- the programs that deal with minority needs."
Ambler said that because of KU's budget cons did not think the University would be able to cr position in the administration.
Sherwood Thompson, director of minority affairs that as KU became more multicultural, more wwu educated and more involved in campus life.
"With more and more minority students conin may be necessary to have a representative at the trative level," he said. "It would help to coordi and assess the needs of minority students in all a
Administrators point to the planned multicurti as an example of KU's commitment to minori And minority enrollment has risen each of the years.
But a planning committee has yet to be form center, and the original opening date of Fall 1993 pushed back a year. And despite the enrollment is more than 90 percent of the student body is white
"Right now, it seems like minority and cultural a treated as a program at KU, instead of within U structure," Braithwaite said. "We need someone campus with enough power to keep people what's going on, and what needs to go on."
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