Students air views on racism

When College senior Joel Chasnoff announced that the forum "Racism on the College Campus at Penn and Beyond" was officially over, none of the approximately 30 students in attendance were ready to leave. So students formed small groups and stayed on to share their views and opinions about race issues at the University -- for an additional hour. The forum, sponsored by Residential Living, was held in the rooftop lounge of High Rise South last night and drew a racially mixed crowd. Black Student League President and Wharton senior Kendrick Cox opened the forum by relating his personal experiences with racism, how it has affected him and how he has seen it affect other people. Cox cited many examples of racism that he has encountered -- including an incident when he was followed around in a store by a salesperson and told that he was only at Penn to fill a quota. "If we don't do something about [racism], no one wins," Cox said. "We have got to make changes in our lives." After Cox spoke, he opened up the floor for discussion. Some students expressed frustration at the fact that there seemed to be no forum for multicultural interaction on campus. Chasnoff, a residential advisor who coordinated the event, said Penn's diversity is not evenly mixed but clumped together. "We have all these different cultures, but you don't really see them interacting," he said. College junior Kendra Olsen offered her solution for getting rid of stereotypes. "We have to learn to look at people as individuals as well as realize that there are some experiences that are unique to a specific group of people," Olsen said. The forum stirred many emotions among those present. "It's nice to see people coming together and feeling comfortable to discuss these issues," Chasnoff said. "It's not something that we see often." College senior Brian Greenspoon said the dialogue was the best part of the forum. "Everyone spoke about their views and expressed themselves comfortably and candidly and was able to get opinions and feedback from a multicultural crowd," Greenspoon said. Cox attributed the diversity of the students in attendance to the forum's publicity. "The advertising was wonderful," Cox said. "We had a diverse group of people from several dorms. This is a step forward." Cox said the forum was what he had envisioned. "I wanted people to share their own views and ask questions about other people," he said. "When you keep a subject such as racism at an academic arms' length, people become disconnected from it." College sophomore Tiffany Hodge said she was also impressed with the forum. "This is the beginning of a racial dialogue that definitely needs to continue," Hodge said.