Commission begins to prepare final plan

The Commission on Strengthening the Community has already begun work on finalizing its report so it will be ready for release by the March 31 deadline, Commission Director Rebecca Bushnell said yesterday. The Commission held its last open forum for comment on its preliminary report Wednesday afternoon. Afterward, members of the Commission who were at the forum met for almost four hours to discuss the final report. "We met yesterday after the open forum and we began to talk about what we want to do in our preparation of the final report," Bushnell said. "We discussed a wide range of recommendations." At the forum, the majority of students present were representing Greek organizations, there to voice their disapproval with the Commission's recommendation that rush be moved to first semester sophomore year. Since the Commission's preliminary report was released in January, the recommendations to move rush to sophomore year, institute assigned housing for freshman residences and eliminate the University's speech code have created much controversy among students. Bushnell said that the Commission is considering all of the suggestions and comments they have received in their two open forums and in informal meetings with campus organizations as it attempts to finalize the report. She added, though, that she could not speculate on what might be changed in the final draft of the report because the Commission is still soliciting comments from all its members and working to reach a final consensus. Bushnell said that some people, including Commission members, have suggested that more recommendations be added to the final report. The Commission is considering this possibility, she said. She declined to comment on the specifics of any new suggestions. "I have no idea what we will decide," she said. "I cannot say until we finished our discussions, but I can say we are having very serious discussions." The full Commission will have its final full meeting on March 28 on campus, Bushnell said. Interim President Claire Fagin said last night she was unable to speak with Commission Chairperson Gloria Chisum, who is also Vice President of the University Board of Trustees, about the final open forum because she had to attend a University Council meeting. Fagin said she hopes to hear about the Commission's progress from Chisum at today's Trustee meeting. The 23-member Commission consists of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and high-profile members of the community affiliated with the University. It was created by Fagin and former University President Sheldon Hackney in the wake of last April's 'water buffalo' and DP confiscation incidents and charged with discovering ways of creating a civil, multi-cultural community based on the principle of free expression.