Instead of addressing minority issues through programs, Student Government’s Minority Affairs department is using policy to facilitate change this spring.
Rather than co-hosting programs with minority groups — such as last fall’s International Film Festival with the International Cultural Center — SG will focus on better educating non-minority students about minority affairs. The department changed its efforts because they consider policy-making a more effective way to change cultural relations on campus, a decision made after meeting with minority groups last fall.
The department decided they needed to educate campus authorities on sensitive minority issues, such as racial slurs and other offensive words.
SG President Brad Golson said the department will affect more students by becoming a policy-based department. Through policies, the department would like to change what Golson called the problem of discrimination against minorities.
“This is going to have much more impact than any program we put on,” he said.
Golson said that although the focus will change to policies and education, SG will continue its minority programs.
Danielle Wheeler, SG co-director of public relations, said SG’s goal is to “enact policies and reflect what is best for students.”
Wheeler said it is the Union Program Council’s job — not SG’s — to plan a majority of the programs.
Crawford Leavoy, co-director of SG Minority Affairs, said too much focus on programming is not an effective means to change minority issues, because the department cannot make statements about the things they want changed.
Through policies, Leavoy said, the department can give its opinions about minority problems on campus and ask for change from the University.
Leavoy said the department wants a more culturally diverse and accepting campus.
Wheeler said SG plans to meet with members of minority communities this spring to address campus discrimination. The department will not limit itself only to students in on-campus minority groups.
Leavoy said the department already has a meeting set with black and international students. The department also is writing a policy statement representing the lesbian and gay community.