Open forum held to discuss race relations

The only rule of Wednesday night's open forum on race, Villanova junior Tommy Fitzpatrick told a group of about 30 area college students, was that there were no rules. Indeed, the students who attended the discussion, part of a week-long series of events sponsored by COLORS -- Campus Organized Lectures on Racial Sensitivity -- were encouraged to share their views freely and check their politically correct statements at the door. Held annually, COLORS aims to explore issues of race and racism and is a collaborative effort by students at Penn and other neighboring schools to raise social awareness. On Wednesday night, students actively participated in the organized discussion, raising concerns about segregation and discrimination, especially as it relates to Penn. Heated issues included the present role of W.E.B. DuBois College House on campus and the use of affirmative action in the University's admissions process. The conversation focused on integrating Penn's campus, an issue that provoked contentious debate among students. Some questioned whether DuBois was a self-segregated "little Africa" or whether it provided an opportunity for many African Americans to live together apart from a predominantly white student body. Other students, however, argued that the University has little control over patterns of segregation. "If people are really concerned about getting to know other groups, they will take it upon themselves," said Cornelius Adetiba, a 1999 Engineering graduate. And that's just the dedicated initiative that Wednesday night's discussion sought to embody and encourage. Event co-organizers Dan Leberman, a College junior, and Fitzpatrick led the evening's discussion with the belief that open communication helps break down many of the racial barriers that exist on college campuses. "It's a white school," Leberman said of Penn, arguing that it would continue to be so until "members inside want to make a difference." "As these issues come up more and more," Adetiba added, "people take a more critical look at the way things are and the way they need to be changed." Though both Leberman and Fitzpatrick said they were pleased with the course of the evening, Leberman noted the difficulties in organizing a racial awareness program. "We always dance around the [race] issue," Leberman said. "It's not so much that people want to be segregated, it's just a perpetuation of segregation that derives from basically apathy? and it is the hardest thing in the world to inspire people to care about something."