CCIE moves against intolerance
Skylar Covich
Issue date: 5/12/09 Section: News
Saint Mary's drive towards a more diverse, inclusive campus continues. The College Committee on Inclusive Excellence (CCIE) had a public meeting on Friday to report on its progress. Formerly known as the Celebrating Diversity Committee, the CCIE's mission is to find ways to develop a more inclusive community at Saint Mary's College, particularly in light of the recommendations of last year's WASC report on campus climate.
In his opening remarks, President Brother Ronald Gallagher stated that the College's Catholic identity is another motivation to form a more inclusive, diverse community. Provost Beth Dobkin said that "we will never be perfect, we are never done" because there are always improvements that will make the College more inclusive. A series of faculty and staff then spoke about events this year which the CCIE has funded including Tim Wise's presentation on "White Like Me" and the Diversity Career Development Conference. Dobkin announced that next year, the CCIE will fund many events from a variety of departments, including more guest speakers, residence life staff training, and interfaith initiatives. Psychology professor Mary McCall clarified the plans for next year, announcing that the committee would work with faculty, staff and students to develop diversity workshops for all groups.
Dean of Students Scott Kier talked about the policy on intolerance, noting that there have been many problems with vandalism in and around the residence halls this year, much of which was hateful toward various groups. He said that Maintenance is instructed to fix intolerant vandalism first, as a priority before all other repair work orders. Finally, two student representatives from the CCIE gave a report; Lien Truong '11 and Randy Menjivar '10 called for more faculty awareness of diversity issues and an effort to make sure that all points of view can be expressed in the classroom. They also hoped that the new Core Curriculum and the new Ethnic Studies minor will strengthen the emphasis on diversity, and that improvements would come because the community was calling for them, not just because of the WASC report.
In his opening remarks, President Brother Ronald Gallagher stated that the College's Catholic identity is another motivation to form a more inclusive, diverse community. Provost Beth Dobkin said that "we will never be perfect, we are never done" because there are always improvements that will make the College more inclusive. A series of faculty and staff then spoke about events this year which the CCIE has funded including Tim Wise's presentation on "White Like Me" and the Diversity Career Development Conference. Dobkin announced that next year, the CCIE will fund many events from a variety of departments, including more guest speakers, residence life staff training, and interfaith initiatives. Psychology professor Mary McCall clarified the plans for next year, announcing that the committee would work with faculty, staff and students to develop diversity workshops for all groups.
Dean of Students Scott Kier talked about the policy on intolerance, noting that there have been many problems with vandalism in and around the residence halls this year, much of which was hateful toward various groups. He said that Maintenance is instructed to fix intolerant vandalism first, as a priority before all other repair work orders. Finally, two student representatives from the CCIE gave a report; Lien Truong '11 and Randy Menjivar '10 called for more faculty awareness of diversity issues and an effort to make sure that all points of view can be expressed in the classroom. They also hoped that the new Core Curriculum and the new Ethnic Studies minor will strengthen the emphasis on diversity, and that improvements would come because the community was calling for them, not just because of the WASC report.