In an interview with the Clarion, University of Colorado at Boulder Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson outlined his commitment to four actions in response to the CU Campus Press scandal two weeks ago.
The scandal involved an article, “If it’s war the Asians want…It’s war they’ll get,” written by Max Karson, a columnist for Campus Press, an online student newspaper. The piece, defined as satirical by the staff and CU administration, has been criticized by the wider community, particularly the Asian community, as racist.
An open forum held last week at CU Boulder and attended by student groups, the Campus Press, university leadership and the dean, faculty and students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication resulted in the chancellor’s four action plan.
Peterson is going to convene a group of CU students and administrators under the leadership of Christine Arguello, head of the Managing Senior Associate Counsel, to determine if two columns published in the Campus Press are in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws, particularly Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Title VI bans discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
A review of commitments made by the CU Boulder administration in 2005 will also take place. The administration committed to providing additional funding for programs and scholarships, widening their focus on diversity issues and immediate responses from the administration when racist incidents occur, said Peterson.
“We will determine the progress made to date and establish additional actions, timelines and expected outcomes,” Peterson said.
The third step of the action plan is reviewing recommendations for changes to Campus Press. In conjunction with Provost Phil DiStefano, the suggestions made by the dean and faculty of the School of Journalism concerning the restructuring and oversight of the Campus Press will be assessed.
Finally, the chancellor has committed to creating an inclusive campus. “(We will) re-dedicate our efforts to create a campus climate that is inclusive, welcoming, and safe; continue the community dialogue established at this productive forum; and develop a process by which we can incorporate this dialogue into the Flagship 2030 strategic planning process,” Peterson said.
These efforts will take place under the guidance of Ron Stump, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, and Vice Chancellor McKee in partnership with the CU Student Union.
Peterson sees the potential for sucess: “I believe we can be successful in our efforts to expand our understanding of diversity, to create a more tolerant and welcoming campus community and to create additional opportunities to promote mutual understanding and mutual respect,” he said.
