Multiculturalism Forum held

Student Senate held its second forum Thursday, entitled "Multiculturalism in the Oberlin College Curriculum."

The forum was designed to be a productive discussion, with students invited to bring any questions, concerns or ideas to the discussion.

Many were wary of what happened at the first chaotic multiculturalism forum, which reportedly involved snubbing and attacking, and no clear decision was made.

Some ground rules were made at the beginning of Thursday's forum, and clear goals were defined. Sophomore Kate Davoli, student senate education coordinator said, "The goal of the forum was to get a good sense of how students think multiculturalism should be addressed on campus.

The final products will include a list of both short-term and long-term goals, pairing up of students to discuss particular questions and ideas, collaboration with senators to write policies on multiculturalism, and communication between students and Faculty Committees that discuss these issues at length every two weeks.

The purpose of the forum was not to attack, but to define the student agenda, and that is just what occurred, as over a hundred students of all different ethnic groups gathered and addressed concerns.

A few initial concerns included a general lack of teachers in specific departments (Asian American studies, African American studies and Latino studies to name a few), the low availability of multicultural classes , and the unclear definition of what constitues cultural diversity in a class.

First-year J.J. Arevalo made an important point, expressing a concern as to where the money of Oberlin's capital campaign is going, saying that such money should be going to departments that need it.

Other students expressed the idea that people must understand that their lives are completely caught up in the disadvantages of not being able to take such multicultural classes. Still other students expressed the need to stay concerned with the multiculturalism that already exists.

One student made an important point about the effects of multicultural learning on the future of Oberlin, saying that it isn't an issue for people of color, it is an issue for everyone, as students are all competent in understanding multicultural issues and need to acquire more of this understanding to help influence others. If this multicultural understanding is not spread, Oberlin's educational influence on the world will steadily drop.

The forum showed a strong concern from the Oberlin community on the place of multiculturalism in the curriculum, and many ideas were proposed for future debate and development.