President Sabah Randhawa speaks as administrators sit on the stage in Fraser Hall, Dec. 7, 2018. Western’s various deans sat in the row below. Ella Banken// AS Review
By Erasmus Baxter
A few hundred students and faculty filled Fraser Hall 102 to ask Western administrators questions about addressing cycles of racism and violence at Western.
Present were President Sabah Randhawa and his vice presidents, as well as the various deans.
Students sought answers from admins on a variety of questions submitted by students. As admins answered, students waved red or green slips of paper to indicate approval or disapproval.
At the end of event, organizers unveiled a list of needs that they wanted admin to work towards. After much bargaining, they also secured a written commitment by the admin present to reconvene on Jan. 18 for another forum. Randhawa also said he would work with a to-be-determined small group of students in the next few weeks to begin implementing the needs put forward.
Here are the needs organizers put forward, scanned by the AS Review:
Student needs by on Scribd
The full document, including needs from a variety of groups on campus, can be read here.
In addition, needs specifically for black students were put forward. They included:
- Hiring and supporting black faculty
- Quarterly meetings between President Randhawa, administration and African Caribbean Club
- Recognizing that administration and the Board of Trustees don’t understand the struggle of black students
- Achieving a level of black student enrollment proportional to the national population
- Keeping black students safe
- A task force to help all minority students
- Hiring black counselors
You can view the whole forum here:
Here’s what students were able to get from admin:
Concrete actions
Communication to students about threats
The group working on emergency communications revisited their protocols this week, especially regarding communications on weekends and over holidays, Donna Gibbs, vice president for University Relations and Marketing, said.
They will seek input from relevant groups in the next few weeks and get input in revising and revisiting protocols, Randhawa said.
They will revisit the definition of what is urgent and rework that definition at the beginning of winter quarter, Randhawa said.
Racist and homophobic slurs are also now seen as an imminent threat for the purposes of sending out alerts, Gibbs said.
Her office will also be meeting in the beginning of January to evaluate apps that would allow students to send pictures and texts to report things to the university and police, with some kind of anonymity.
Keeping campus safe for students of color
Ted Pratt, dean of students, said they are bringing back the team that responds to bias incidents, comprised of faculty, staff and students. It will work to ensure the safety of people affected, as well as education and next steps.
They are also revisiting policies and guidelines around immediate suspensions and looking at the arguments that can be made about safety to emergency suspend students, he said.
In cases of serious risk or harm for campus, they will expedite the student conduct process, Melynda Huskey, vice president for Enrollment and Student Services, said.
Getting student input
Randhawa said he will have forums with specific groups, including the Ethnic Student Center, after winter break.
He also said he would begin meeting with a smaller group of students in the next few weeks to address the needs put forward. The students in the group still need to be determined.
General commitments
Keeping campus safe for students of color
Randhawa said they can work to make the due process faster to ensure there’s no threat to campus.
He also said bringing in more students of color was a high priority for his administration and in doing so would help protect other students of color by creating a community. He said they were working to diversify the faculty.
Overall, they are committed to getting the resources needed for safety, Randhawa said.
Addressing discriminatory actions and racism by professors
Discriminatory activity in classrooms by professor cannot be tolerated, said Brent Carbajal, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. If students make a complaint, they need to be well served by the process, and the process needs to be looked at if that’s not happening.
Students should not be further victimized by transcripts after being victimized by a professor, Huskey said.
Disproportionate police presence at events by clubs made up of students of color
Huskey said she will find out why police are at some club events but not others and make necessary changes.
Accommodations regarding Paul Stangl, an urban planning professor found responsible for sexually harassing two students
Huxley dean Steven Hollenhorst said that he would work with any students who came to him to make accommodations.
Advocates for victims in Equal Opportunity Office investigations
Randhawa said he will find out why there’s no advocate for students in EOO cases.
Notifying students about threats
Randhawa said he will follow up on the need for more immediate and consistent communication around threats and slurs against students of color.
Gibbs said they may do training with university police officers, who are often among the first to encounter slurs and threats.
Protecting undocumented students
Huskey has not met with undocumented students yet this quarter, but needs to rebalance her responsibilities and do that this quarter, she said.
Compensating faculty of color for their extra labor
Departmental unit evaluation plans need to be updated to recognize work done by faculty of color so they can be compensated for it, Carbajal said. This involves work with departments and work with the faculty union.
Evaluating the situation for students of color
Huskey said she will take time to evaluate the situation on campus for students of color.
Compensating students who work with President Randhawa to accomplish the needs
President Randhawa said they will look into compensation.
There was skepticism among many students about the commitments made by administrators, especially as many felt they had fallen short before or were putting the work on students.
Whether they follow through on these commitments remains to be seen at the next forum on Jan. 18.