Thursday, February 19, 1998 FEATURES Diversity problems must be addressed on this campus Incident renews call for awareness by Dan Zehr choice words: one four-letter word Normally, this column would be beginning with "f" and, on another titled "What are you getting for sign, a more derogatory word start your educational dollar?" Money ing with "n." With less than a little does not seem all that important in imagination it is easy to see the comparison to this issue. community's beliefs may be justi fied. Everyone at Penn State Harris burg seems to have some sort of opinion about the campus. Usually it is apathetic or sarcastic, but it is always strong. Whether discussing the equipment, the activities avail able or the atmosphere, the argu ment over where the fault lies could rage for days. Most often, the cor rect answer to the debate is every one. This certainly stands true in one glaring example - discrimination. PSH has earned a lousy reputation among the community concerning diversity issues. This legacy is not the school's alone but its students as well. The most recent example of why we have gotten such standing was the defamatory remarks written on two of the Black Student Union signs. The scrawl included some Meet Provost and Dean Dr. John Bruhn and SGA Representatives Dr. Bob Scott, coordinator of the Harrisburg Campus' Educational Equity and Diversity Committee, has been dealing with these prob lems for most of his career. He is very concerned. "There has histori cally been a negative view of Penn State," Scott said. "Just when things get better, a bad incident oc curs and ruins the hard work." Racial epithets, like the one found this past weekend by two PSH stu dents, are more graphic samples of where our reputation comes from. But they tend to be random events. Scott is equally concerned with the more subtle forms of harassment that plague the school on a consis tent basis. Problems arose, like the time a professor asked how "black people pronounce" a certain word or phrase. The lengths of discrimina- LIVE MUSIC REFRESHMENTS Monday lebru tion workshops have been heatedly argued about, but the participation of tenured professors is virtually nil. Even simple conversations with no malice intended can be offensive. "I hear three to four concerns ev ery day," Scott said, "one of which is justifiable." One valid complaint per day is not a statistic most universities would be proud of. It is also an obvious indicator of why many people do not want to come to Penn State. Scott's daughter, for example, de cided to go to Vassar. She did not want to deal with the discrimina tion here, he explained. This is not just a black - white is sue. Many others already here are fed up with the cold shoulder they are receiving. The library and maintenance staff has felt consis tently ignored by faculty, adminis tration and students alike, Scott re ported. Even tenure versus non-ten ure insensitivity has occurred. However, the news is not all bleak. PSH is making some progress thanks in part to a con certed effort by Dr. John Bruhn, Capital Campus provost and dean. He has made his position on any type of discrimination perfectly clear. "I put out two letters to staff and faculty reemphasizing Dr. Spanier's (PSU president) position and the university's position," he said. He has told his staff that anyone violating the policy will be removed immediately and without discus sion. In addition, he works closely with the diversity committee giv ing them his "full ear." Scott ap plauded his efforts saying, "He is speaking out and students should follow suit." Some are indeed taking the first steps. Staff discrimination training is scheduled for next month, and clubs have scheduled meetings to discuss discrimination in all its forms. Scott has urged discussion in the classroom as well. However, forums such as these are limited. The most work needs to be done on an individual basis. Scott sug gested a few things everyone can do, beginning with, "examining yourself and where you are." Try, to discern the values you have, re membering you can easily offend and be unaware of it. Next, talk to other, different Participate Events sponsored by the College Life Enrichment VISION, HEARING BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS 23 , 1998 in the Wellness Offices AND The Capital Times people. Find out how they feel about the issues at hand, and listen when they answer; answering hon est questions is important. "We must talk both ways," Scott re minded. Also, follow the old cliche prac tice makes perfect. "If you say it in a homogeneous situation, you will probably say it at the wrong time," he warned. In the global marketplace, everyone must watch what they say. Last, but most important, Scott said remember Elie Wiesel's state ment, "Silence is a form of endorse ment." Speak out when you see something wrong, he added, and tell a person if they are being offensive. Many studies show 5 to 7 percent of the population will not change their attitude toward such prejudice. But by failing to address the issue, we are opening the door for that sta tistic to increase. They will not grow if they are confronted. At PSH, we need to reach a posi tion we can justify, Scott said. "If we are committed to quality edu cation and relationships, and main taining the ethics we talk about, this problem must be improved."
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