Students convened Friday afternoon to discuss a Dean of Multicultural Affairs and diversity training with Dean of Student Services Michael Whaley during the second meeting of the Student of Color Perspectives and Action Committee (SoCPAC).

The Administration has long resisted student demands for a multicultural dean, but at the meeting Whaley informed students that both President Doug Bennet and Interim Dean of the College Peter Patton have begun to reconsider their positions on the issue.

“I think it’s a big step on the part of Administration,” said LaShawn Springer ’08. “I know for years there have been suggestions about a multicultural dean and/or a multicultural affairs office and it has been met with a lot of reluctance, [so] I was surprised to learn that Patton wanted to examine the issue. I’m going into this optimistic and hoping for the best. I hope that this is a real opportunity and not just a way to appease students.”

Their decision was announced after the meeting that Bennet and Patton arranged with a group of 25-30 students of color after the campus forum in January. They wanted an opportunity to have dialogue with students of color about their concerns in a venue that would facilitate meaningful and productive conversation.

If the administration meets their goal of hiring a Dean of Multicultural Affairs, students say it would only be the first step in tackling several of the problems that need to be addressed.

“It’s kind of like step one — [the new dean] would be able to coordinate student efforts and with it, these issues would have an administrative office that is supposed to handle them,” said Ana Weibgen ’05.

Patton also announced that he will be heading up a special committee of students and Administrators to examine the multicultural dean proposition. The goal of this committee will be to identify issues, analyze current programs and services and make recommendations for the new dean of the college to review and implement as appropriate.

“During the time that I’ve been at Wesleyan, the issue about whether or not we need a multicultural dean has surfaced frequently,” Whaley said. “To my knowledge, no formal proposal has ever been developed that addresses the need for this dean position. This committee will study that issue and make a recommendation about whether or not we need this specific position, and, if so, what types of needs the dean would be responsible for addressing.”

The committee also discussed diversity training for faculty. As SoCPAC faculty chair Joyce Jacobsen stated at the student forum in January, all Wesleyan staff including administrators, secretaries, etc. should go through diversity training, but the administration cannot legally force it upon faculty members.

Students, however, supported the idea of offering optional diversity training for faculty, and Dean Whaley brought up the idea of recognizing those faculty members who have been strong allies and supporters in order to make diversity training something that is looked at with a level of honor and prestige.

A proposed method of extra incentive was accreditation, with a process similar to that of the Queer Alliance Program. Some proposed the idea that students searching classes on Wesmaps would ultimately be able to see if professors had completed diversity training.

“Everyone in our meeting as well as myself believe that faculty should have to go through diversity training, but we realize that there is no way to make it a requirement,” Springer said. “I didn’t know about the Queer Alliance Program until it was brought up in the meeting, and I think that it was a great way of getting people involved in issues they otherwise might not have been.”

SoCPAC decided that one of its ultimate goals is to write a full report on specific work that needs to be done to present to the new Dean of the College. Patton, whose interim service as dean of the College finishes at the end of this semester, has stipulated that he does not want to make any decisions that would be binding on the new dean.

Because of this, the earliest possible date for the proposed process of selecting a new Dean of Multicultural Affairs will not be until next fall. Despite this late date, few students expressed concern about prolonged student interest or involvement.

“I’m not worried,” Springer said. “I don’t think the student body is going to let this get away from them. One of the reasons it is prolonged is because we want to be meticulous in our proposal so we don’t get shot down right away. We are, however, going to create a timeline for accomplishing goals within the committee. I’d rather see us take this one step at a time than to rush into it and ruin any chance that we have.”

Patton’s staff will meet this Tuesday to discuss issues addressed in the SoCPAC meeting and how committee membership should be developed. Students interested in being part of Patton’s committee should contact either him or Whaley for more information.

The next SoCPAC meeting will be March 3. SoCPAC is an open committee comprised of students, faculty and staff.