The war that must be won

Although the recent protest of Campus Copy Center was about the abuse of one of its patrons, the incident that occurred on April 3, 2001 stirred up many issues surrounding race relations on campus by drawing attention to and fostering discussion by students and administrators on these issues. Groups all over campus voiced their opinions about what happened and demanded action from police and the University. Some of the issues that arose from the conflict were abuse by the employees of Campus Copy Center, acts of passive aggression by Professor Erling Boe, the treatment of people of color by the police, the lack of comfort students of color experience on this campus and white privilege in general, just to name a few. The incident led to an investigation by the police and to countless meetings around campus. Students met with each other, administrators and Campus Copy Center owners in order to find a way to resolve this conflict and make sure nothing like this happens again. The protesting in front of Campus Copy has since ended and the police investigation has been closed, but the relevant issues raised are far from solved. The University is in the process of seeking ways to educate students about some of these issues. But what is startling is that these issues are not new to Penn. The lack of comfort experienced by students of color and our relationship with faculty dates back more than 10 years. In 1985, Legal Studies Professor Murray Dolfman referred to two African American students in his classroom as "ex-slaves" and asked them to recite the 13th and 14th amendments. The incident, which was alleged to have occurred more than once, caused much controversy on campus, and the Black Student League led numerous protests and rallies against the professor and the administration. I use this example for two reasons. First, Penn's administration did not take any action for a month, until they finally suspended Professor Dolfman. If it had not been for the persistence of the students, the issue would have faded and possibly nothing would have been done. Second, I use the example because the culmination of the demands of the students then is similar to the point of our demands today. Students then and now wanted a way to encourage dialogue, sensitivity and a more welcoming environment for students of color. The students of 1985 wanted a dismissal of Dolfman, racism awareness workshops, education and an increase in black faculty and staff. Today, students want PACE workshops for graduate associates and residential advisors, training for the police, an increase in the number of people of color in faculty and staff positions and a committee to address age, gender and racial marginalization that permeated the Seaton incident, among many other things. Each time something happens on this campus and students have let it be known that they want action to be taken, the University has done something to alleviate the problem. But there has never been a long-standing structure set up to prevent something like this from happening again. This time, however, it is important that as students we demand a permanent and tangible structure that will deter, and, if need be, handle situations that may arise in the future. We must help the University create this structure. So as you go on summer vacation and enjoy your break, remember that while the physical battle may be over, the war is not yet won. Sometimes it is hard for us, as students, to make the University administration realize that we are serious and committed to our cause. Our protest is often looked at as "just a phase." With this in mind, the biggest challenge will be for all of us to make sure the issues that are raised today continue to be addressed for a long time to come -- even beyond our years at Penn.

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