BSL holds forum on randomized housing

Although the final committee has not been appointed and no meetings have been held, the student body has already started talking about the administration's 21st Century Undergraduate Education initiative. The plan and its implications for W.E.B. DuBois College House were the focus of the Black Student League's general meeting last night. In the past, the BSL has expressed concern about other University residential proposals, such as randomized housing. This is the first time students have gathered to formally address the initiative. Over 40 students attended the meeting, which lasted almost two hours. They focused on the residential component of the plan, and expressed concern about the future of DuBois House, where the meeting took place. Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairperson Matthew Kratter spoke and fielded questions during the discussion. Many students said they felt the administration was not listening to student concerns and did not know enough about the University to produce the initiative. "Don't you feel the entire plan was a bit premature?" asked BSL President Robyn Kent, a College senior. "[Provost Stanley] Chodorow is coming from California?he's made statements without really investigating what students really want." Kratter said he understood Kent's concern, and mentioned the recent rejection of SCUE's proposed calendar changes as another example of Chodorow's failure to respond to students' needs. Kent, like many who spoke at the forum, focused on Chodorow's intent to bring academics into the residences and creating a residential component similar to a college house system. She said Chodorow was making uninformed judgements about DuBois House, without having ever visited the residence. "There's not even a mention of the word 'minority' in the plan," Kent said. Several students discussed the need for a cultural component to residential living that goes beyond the academic environment. They said they feel the administration underrates the importance of DuBois House. "They are not aware what of what DuBois College House or any of the other college houses are," Wharton senior Wayne Wilson said. "DuBois is a whole mix of different cultures and is an area of learning?they're attacking it." Wilson, who is president of the BiCultural InterGreek Council, added that University President Judith Rodin and Chodorow should consider the University as different from the universities where they were previously employed. "All I've seen is DuBois under attack," College sophomore Frances Fattah said. "Without even coming to DuBois, [Chodorow has] decided to change things so quickly. He doesn't even seem interested in the students." Kratter emphasized the power of the student body, saying that students can "press your points to the president and the provost." "If you don't play a part in [the plan's] creation, it's not going to work," he added. Kratter also said he did not believe the administration was attacking DuBois House. "I don't think they're attacking culturally related programs," he added. "I think they are new people who just came in with their own focus and ideas." "One of my biggest problems with this University is that a lot is said but nothing is happening," said College senior Sheila Boyd. "There also seems to be an agenda here that is not being really said."

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