Provost sees progress here By Tony Perry and Nell Myers In an interview Tuesday, Provost Ruth Leventhal favorably evaluated her first six months at Capitol Campus. Addressing her three short term goals of beautification, academic strength and com munity outreach, Leventhal gave the campus high marks in all three categories. "I think the results of [cam pus beautification) are evident. The seniors are now putting together a class gift. I think that says something. "I think students should be ave. avio. ‘llOl -Now arviP • seeing a lot more attention [to their needs]," she added. Leventhal said the ad ministration is trying ease bureaucratic tensions for students. In community outreach, Leventhal said the campus has "gotten a lot more visibility and recognition, and that will con tinue." Leventhal said she was "real ly delighted" about the increase in black enrollment here this semester. She said black enroll ment stands at 76 students, compared with 51 last year. W . IV . W W Fox's Market dirolP ‘llO. Commuters, she said, are "a most difficult challenge," but that she is trying to "get some sense of what's relevant." Asked about campus securi ty, Leventhal said, "Our securi ty gives really good coverage. I'm really comfortable with the way things are." (continued from pg. 1) would allow the schools addi tional time to continue progress in any deficient areas. - If the legislature feels that a sufficient effort was not made, the school in question will receive a "show-cause notice" in which the legislature requires an acceptable reason to continue government funding. Pregnant? & need help... Birthright volunteers offer alternatives to women facing problem pregnancies: Free Pregnancy testing Counseling Referrals Maternity & Layette Wear 545-2211 will put you in touch with someone who cares. C IRTHRIGHT z z • 4.1.1 P dviver r(1 evelP Thursday, December 13, 1984 The Capitol Times Page 3 PSU tries to retain black students more 4Noi• `IIW 1 • `l4l • deo , `Ol Improvements planned The provost also gave a pro gress report on some campus improvements. She said the move of the student club offices from W-110 Olmsted to 216 Olmsted might be completed over the semester break. "I do want to accommodate This action is now pending in Alabama. The success of Penn State's recruiting program raises ques tions regarding another of the Title VI requirements -- reten tion. Currently, 32 percent of the black undergraduates at Penn State graduate, Asbury said. The university must raise this figure to 48 percent by August, 1988 and, as Asbury concluded, "if Penn State did, [the school] would have no pro blem." "If Penn State [meets Title VI, we] would have no problem." William Asbury exec. asst. for administration There are several ways in which the black population can be kept within the Penn State system. Humanities Division Head William Mahar suggested that academic divisions should play a key role in retaining minority students. Efforts should be made to make minority students feel involved by offering services, such as tutoring, to these students, he said. Offering cultural programs, such as Black History Month, is another way to keep minorities in the system accor ding to Jennifer Krohn, coor dinator of student activities. Krohn said that minority students must be given the op portunity to be comfortable because, with the current low enrollment, minorities are often in the spotlight. The current status of minori ty relations is being observed and discussed by a special com mittee working on human rela tions of commonwealth cam puses. Representing Capitol Campus, Ed Beck, a campus counselor, said that the com mittee is researching "how to make the Penn State system a more attractive and hospitable institute." Beck also suggested that minorities face four distinct students' needs, she noted, say ing that the move will be postponed if it cannot be finish ed over the winter holiday. Finally, Leventhal said she was "sad to see" that someone had damaged the new lighted entrance sign, but that the cam pus has ordered a "sturdier" plexiglass front. problems in the . Penn State system: - Blacks along with other minorities suffer from a "lack of numbers." - "Not all in the system are sensitive and responsive to the needs" of minorities. - On the other hand, some display "an over-reaction and a backlash to these needs." Some try so hard to make minorities feel comfortable, that the result is still discomfort. - Blacks and other minorities are treated as a homogeneous, monolithic group rather than a group of individuals. Most college students and faculty members continue to harbor racial stereotypes, said Carolyn Spatta, author of a re cent study on black relations for the Association of American Colleges and vice president for administration and business at Cal State-Hayward. "And the best thing we can do is to first acknowledge that these stereotypes do exist. Whites have them of blacks, and blacks have them of whites," Spatta said. Such stereotypes, she added, par ticularly hurt black students on the predominantly white campuses. For the black student sur rounded by a sea of white faces, the stereotype can harm his or her schooling, Spatta said. The continuing effort by Penn State to achieve the criteria of Title VI will be close ly watched by university of ficials during the next few years. It will be a long struggle, but according to James South, assistant provost for student af fairs, Penn State is "headed in the right direction."
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