Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

A recent article illuminating particular United Minorities Council goals ( "UMC agenda focused on SARS Dept., review board," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 9/17/02) misconstrued the UMC's objectives and collaboration with regard to its current and past projects.

First, the UMC continues to work with the University Police in order to ensure a fair complaint process in the event that any student or community member feels that they were the victim of police misconduct. Furthermore, both the police and the UMC are planning to continue the dialogue on profiling that began last semester with the goal of improving community-police relations so that neither security nor rights are jeopardized.

Secondly, the UMC has been working with the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, Black Student League and Latino Coalition, as well as the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, to expand and improve the resources available at the cultural centers -- Greenfield Intercultural Center, La Casa Latina, Makuu and Pan Asian American Community House -- which have been providing invaluable programming and student support at Penn. The "consolidated center" mentioned in the article is not an objective of any of the students or staff working on this project.

Additionally, the panel event on interracial dating was a program organized by Check One, and the forum on "self-segregation" was organized primarily by Check One and La Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos, but was supported by the UMC.

I hope this clears up some of the confusion about the UMC and its objectives that the article may have caused.

Shaun Gonzales

College '03

The writer is political chair of the United Minorities Council.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.