Interest in issues of diversity does not necessarily translate into knowledge about how to instill sensitivity. Professional expertise should be made available, perhaps by offering faculty opportunities for professional development in this area, and incentives to take advantage of such opportunities. The campus climate for students and faculty of color is unacceptable. The racial incidents on campus, and the lack of strong reaction to them, has made current students feel that their concerns are not important. Students reported to us that there is no place on campus or in the community that they feel comfortable.
Residence halls are sometimes places of outright hostility.
There must be commitment from the highest levels of the administration that incidents of racism will not be tolerated. The Ethnic Studies Program has not been a high priority. The one-credit course which assured students of at least some exposure to material specifically about ethnicity has been abolished. There must be budgetary support for the development of a strong ethnic studies component as part of the liberal education which UWP students receive. It is important that graduates understand the wider world in which they will work and live.