The Brown & White

The Council for Equity and Community launched its Web site April 20 to show social justice and diversity issues are being addressed at Lehigh since the on campus incidents that occurred after the presidential election in November.

Shortly after the election of Barack Obama, two racist incidents were reported by students and brought up in a town hall meeting coordinated by the CEC.

Another town hall meeting was called by the CEC in December to monitor progress on the issues, but there have been none since then.

One idea discussed in these town hall meetings was a mandatory class for incoming freshmen to promote knowledge about diversity.

Vice Provost of Student Affairs John Smeaton said they are still working with students and other groups to look into the possibility of creating such a class.

"One of the things that bothered me about that meeting in hindsight is that it focused too much on the class rather than focusing on the specific issues that had been reported and making an outline of steps for Lehigh to take," Karl Brisseaux, '11, said.

Student Affairs initially responded to the incidents discussed at the town hall meeting by personally following up with each individual who had been targeted, Smeaton said.

A series of discussions about harassment were held as well, open to all students, which 15 to 25 students attended, Smeaton said.

Student Affairs also worked to change the "Confronting Intolerance" Web site to an updated site titled "Building a Community of Respect," in an effort to promote acceptance.

"Intolerance was an inappropriate word," Smeaton said. "For me that really captures the essence of all of this, that the fundamental value that we really want to instill is respect, respect for ourselves, respect for others. If we do that we will minimize social and alcohol issues."

Since those two racist incidents were made public last semester, no further racial incidents have been reported to Student Affairs, Smeaton said.

"Any time an incident of that nature is reported or we are made aware of it, we will conduct an investigation and follow up with an appropriate response in the context of the specific circumstances," Smeaton said. "It is important to gather as much information as possible to make an informed judgment."

Although racist incidents are often not reported, they are still happening at Lehigh, Brisseaux said.

"Overall a lot of these things do happen and don't get talked about all the time. I think there's a lot of room for improvement about how the student body responds," Brisseaux said. "I think part of the reason we don't hear about it is because those targeted don't want to talk about it."

John McKnight, director of the office of multicultural affairs, said racial incidents at Lehigh have been occurring since the election.

McKnight said many of the incidents included people being called derogatory names, not necessarily related to the election.

Calvin John Smiley, '08 and graduate student, said he has personally experienced racism at Lehigh.

"Personally, I have dealt with issues of harassment being called a 'nigger' on this campus," Smiley said. "I feel like the racial climate has not gotten any better. Just because the school brings in more faces of color doesn't mean much."

M.J. Bishop, chairperson for the CEC, said the committee has been actively meeting this semester with the goal of making Lehigh a more welcoming community.

"One of the ways in which the CEC infiltrates the minds of Lehigh students is by providing university-wide training about important issues for faculty and student leaders on campus, such as orientation leaders," she said.

Bishop said the purpose of the CEC is to provide support and to help advocate for the efforts of other groups on campus.

For example, Kristen Klingler, president of Alpha Gamma Delta, contacted the CEC about hosting a social justice program this semester called "Be the Change You Want to Be."

The program involved a lecture and related workshops by Jessica Pettitt, a social justice and diversity consultant and facilitator.

According to Bishop, the goal of the CEC is to "light fires on campus, make sure they are being tending, and keep them lit."

The office of multicultural affairs has also been actively working towards educating the campus about social and diversity issues.

"My vision has been that we have a two-prong approach, we have the immediate, direct support of underrepresented students of color," McKnight said. "Then we have the more long-term, slower process of educating the campus on diversity and social justice."

Like the CEC, the office of multicultural affairs works to tap in to student leadership on campus to make sure they are exposed to the ideas of social justice and diversity, McKnight said.

For example, the office of multicultural affairs has created Kaleidoscope, a peer educators program aimed at facilitating discussions about a wide range of topics among groups of Lehigh students.

Any group on campus, such as a Greek house, a residence hall or a group of friends, can request Kaleidoscope to come and open up a discussion about the specific issue at hand.

As for what the average Lehigh student can do to help promote respect at Lehigh, a first step is to get involved.

"There is diversity at Lehigh, although I think it could still grow more and people could become more actively involved in campus life," Marcelo Caro, '11, said.

Brisseaux agreed with Caro.

"There are a lot of great events that go on on campus all the time," Brisseaux said. "I think the advertisement is a problem. It's just a matter of people stepping out of their comfort zone. A lot people don't really know who to talk to."

Brisseaux said clubs need to reach out more to students who may be interested in getting involved.

The Brown and Black, founded this year, is an editorial-style newspaper whose goal is to provide students with a voice for their opinions on real issues, and provides a way for students to become involved, Brisseaux said. He said he was recently elected to be next semester's editor in chief for The Brown and Black.

"The Brown and White is intended strictly for getting people to know more about what's going on specifically at Lehigh on campus," Brisseaux said. "With The Brown and Black the goal is to shed light on things that aren't included in The Brown and White. It's all about students' opinions, how people feel about things. It's a really good way for students to see how people are feeling about issues."

Caro said he thinks Lehigh students are open to learning about diversity.

"The environment is good and people are open to hear opinions from people of different parts of the world," Caro said.

Student involvement is only one part of the solution. A deeper look into the subtle undertones of bias in Lehigh's social life is also necessary, Brisseaux and Smiley said.

"The wall needs to be broken down," Brisseaux said. "The whole Greek, non-Greek thing, I think from both sides there's a lot of misunderstanding, especially with all the back and forth in The Brown and White."

Also, if older fraternity or sorority members let their new members know from the beginning that they do not tolerate sexism and bigotry, over time the Greek system could develop into a more respectful environment, Brisseaux said.

Smiley said he agreed with Brisseaux.

"Anyone can go to a meeting and talk about how racism is bad and shouldn't happen," Smiley said. "But many members of the Lehigh community don't realize the perpetuations of racism, sexism, and homophobia have many forms. You don't have to be an outright racist to take part in this. By hosting a 'CEOs and Corporate Ho's' party that perpetuates sexism and misogyny."