Spring Break
Our view: It's all about communication
DKS Editors
Issue date: 7/2/08 Section: Opinion
After an entire semester assembling and getting to know each other, the newly formed Commission on Inclusion finally hosted its first public forum in mid-June.
Its mission? To analyze and discuss race and other relationships on campus to make Kent State a more welcoming and inclusive community.
The commission, led by the Rev. Ronald Fowler, will then deliver a series of recommendations outlining strategies to accomplish the aforementioned objective to the administration.
From the looks of it, the Commission on Inclusion is off to a promising start. Representatives from various factions of the university came to offer input, including the Undergraduate Student Government.
Opinions seemed honest and sometimes downright blunt - i.e., a reference to Kent State operating as a "plantation" with the library serving as the "big house" due to perceived limited contact between the administration and the rest of campus.
Clearly, honest communication about these issues can only be healthy for the university community.
But talking is only the first step. Action must follow in order for a campus-wide impact to be felt.
As one person pointed out at the forum, recommendations in ink are just pieces of paper. They have the tendency to sit idle while collecting dust in the corner of an office.
How these recommendations will be enforced still remains unclear. President Lester Lefton, who initiated the creation of the commission, has said he will review the recommendations and then decide how best to implement them at Kent State.
He stopped short of saying he would implement them all. Obviously, as president, that decision is up to him. It might even be a wise one.
Still, when the commission finishes its work, a "phase two" of some sort seems to be in order.
Let's face it: The human attention span is dwindling. People choose to forget things if they are not forced to remember.
The university community would benefit greatly if the administration issued a rough outline of plans to implement some of the recommendations. That way, it continues to be an ongoing process. The commission's hard work should not be forgotten in the minds of the public as soon as the recommendations land in the administrative offices.
Its mission? To analyze and discuss race and other relationships on campus to make Kent State a more welcoming and inclusive community.
The commission, led by the Rev. Ronald Fowler, will then deliver a series of recommendations outlining strategies to accomplish the aforementioned objective to the administration.
From the looks of it, the Commission on Inclusion is off to a promising start. Representatives from various factions of the university came to offer input, including the Undergraduate Student Government.
Opinions seemed honest and sometimes downright blunt - i.e., a reference to Kent State operating as a "plantation" with the library serving as the "big house" due to perceived limited contact between the administration and the rest of campus.
Clearly, honest communication about these issues can only be healthy for the university community.
But talking is only the first step. Action must follow in order for a campus-wide impact to be felt.
As one person pointed out at the forum, recommendations in ink are just pieces of paper. They have the tendency to sit idle while collecting dust in the corner of an office.
How these recommendations will be enforced still remains unclear. President Lester Lefton, who initiated the creation of the commission, has said he will review the recommendations and then decide how best to implement them at Kent State.
He stopped short of saying he would implement them all. Obviously, as president, that decision is up to him. It might even be a wise one.
Still, when the commission finishes its work, a "phase two" of some sort seems to be in order.
Let's face it: The human attention span is dwindling. People choose to forget things if they are not forced to remember.
The university community would benefit greatly if the administration issued a rough outline of plans to implement some of the recommendations. That way, it continues to be an ongoing process. The commission's hard work should not be forgotten in the minds of the public as soon as the recommendations land in the administrative offices.
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