Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

37° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Editorials: Create forum for complaints; Making strides, still not enough

Create forum for complaints

Northwestern should be a place where everyone feels safe to be themselves.

“Northwestern prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, martial status, age, disability, citizenship or veteran status… Northwestern prohibits retaliation against anyone for making a complaint of discrimination or harassment,” according to a campus-wide administrative e-mail sent two weeks ago.

Well, NU, you can prohibit it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen on campus. We hope to see a more open environment for complaints and cultural exchanges through the new student-, administration- and police-run advisory board for addressing issues of race and community relations.

The University maintains an Office of Equal Opportunity and Access through Human Resources with “discrimination and harassment prevention advisers” throughout schools and departments. Formal complaints may be filed through this office or the Office of the Provost.

Racial profiling, discrimination and harassment are delicate issues that need to be treated with careful structure in order for the University to protect itself. But to protect us, we need a more widely known and more widely used system of where to go and who to talk to when we’re seeking solutions.

NU may benefit from looking to the recently developed Citizens’ Police Advisory Committee in Evanston, created for trained residents to review complaints against the police. Perhaps CAs or students can similarly serve as middlemen so we feel more comfortable.

All it took was one student raising his voice about being wronged. It was a catalyst on campus to re-examine our racial profiling procedures. Imagine if we all stopped letting comments slide and said, “Hey, that’s not OK.” We can be our own vehicle for change, and it’s time to create an atmosphere where we feel safe to speak up.

Making strides, still not enough

We boast the Class of 2013 is the best so far for its diversity, quality and of course, size. Except for lauding the increase in financial aid, more isn’t always better. With more students on campus, class sizes are up, the faculty-to-student ratio has grown and freshmen are wallowing in singles at Foster-Walker Complex.

Increasing black enrollment by about 65 percent is a step in the right direction, but this isn’t the time to pat ourselves on the back for accomplishing diversity. On the contrary, seeing the increase should only refocus NU’s efforts to recruit and retain more minority students. This year we made a great stride in adding to the black representation, but a five-student change in Hispanic/Latino enrollment on a campus as large as ours is not a significant increase. There is still work to be done.

Forging personal connections with prospective students may be an effective way to attract minorities to NU. Other universities send individual letters to prospies. As many student leaders have suggested, we need to continue efforts to reach out to high schools and begin to offer a wider range of multicultural activities in collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Admission during Preview NU and New Student Week.

If NU is indeed “one of the best universities in the world,” as described by Michael Mills, associate provost for University enrollment, we need to reflect greater diversity in our student body.

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Editorials: Create forum for complaints; Making strides, still not enough