More multicultural education in the curriculum, diversity training during first-year orientation, a change to the dorm selection policy -- all these options are being considered by an informal group of students and administrators dedicated to improving race relations at the University.
The group has seen its discussions intensified since the recent "blackface" incident, in which fraternity brothers at Zeta Psi were widely criticized for having painted their faces black as part of their costumes at a Halloween party, said Pat Lampkin, vice president for student affairs and leader of the group.
Despite the work of the group, Dean of African-American Affairs M. Rick Turner said he was skeptical that anything will come of recent discussions regarding racial issues around Grounds.
"We have a stop-and-start policy on diversity here," Turner said.
Lampkin's student group is made up of leaders of student organizations and other students and is open to anyone.
"I think we need several solutions" to address racial tension on Grounds, Lampkin said. Mandating diversity training for first years is one option.
Orientation programs such as Grounds for Discussion have addressed racial issues in the past, Lampkin said. But students and administrators will discuss the possibility of doing more, consulting with groups like the University's Office for Equal Opportunity Programs.
The Getting Beyond Just Getting Along workshop on workplace diversity, which the Office will soon launch, will allow participants to examine themselves and the way they perceive people of other racial or ethnic groups, said Karen Holt, the director of the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs.
"Learning not to assume that everyone's experience mirrors our own is a first step in getting along better," Holt said.
The Greek community also might experiment with diversity workshops. The Inter-Fraternity Council, while finding Zeta Psi and Kappa Alpha fraternities not guilty of infractions of IFC rules in connection with the "blackface" incident, recommended that those groups sponsor diversity training for the Council's other fraternities.
"One idea was to have those chapters pair up with minority groups and go to other chapters," IFC President Phil Trout said.
Trout said he had contacted a University alumnus, who is a diversity-training professional, about designing the workshops.
Some minority student leaders recently have gone further than asking for diversity training, proposing that all students be required to fulfill a "multicultural education" class requirement.
President John T. Casteen III said he hopes the blackface incidents will jumpstart a conversation about race relations on Grounds.
"Maybe these events will trigger a period of reflection and learning that will draw students together in ways that would not have been possible without a cautionary experience," he said.
Conversations about race and diversity make headlines whenever there is a racially charged incident at the University, then fade away without much progress having been made, Turner said.
"We probably will not be talking about this issue at this time next semester," he added. "When students can see African-Americans in administrative positions and faculty positions, then we can start thinking about diversity."
Lampkin insisted that she is committed to continuing the dialogue she's having with concerned students. She also said that there has been progress over recent years in thinking about race relations.
"Maybe people forget that different pieces are tried," she said. "We are further on these topics than people realize."
There is no cure-all for race relations at the University, Lampkin said. "There isn't one answer. But I think we're all looking for one answer."
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