Students, faculty and staff in the College of Education will rally today to bring attention to what they say is the college administration’s failure to address discriminatory treatment or to implement an existing policy
designed to address these complaints. The rally will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the College of Education quad.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and City Councilor David Kelly will speak at the rally, and a number of other community members have expressed their support for participants.
“This fight has been going on for decades,” graduate student Shadiin Garcia said. “We’re tired of the … nicely typed letters, the empty promises and the weak excuses.”
Some students said professors at the
COE have created a hostile learning environment for students of color. In a report compiled by Garcia, about 40 students anonymously submitted short testimonials in which they alleged discrimination in the college.
One student told of a professor telling a racist joke; another student wrote that he or she was told to shut up when raising issues
about diversity.
COE Dean Marty Kaufman said some of the allegations lack factual warrants.
“There are some students that perceive that (discrimination is occurring) and assert that,” he said. “There are not enough warrants to assert that; … there are truths in all of
the facts, and there are distortions in all of
the facts.”
Nonetheless, Kaufman said he will take
immediate action to address the issues by
appointing an external reviewer to assess
the situation. He also said the current
ombudsperson will now report to the Office
of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity.
“I reiterate my commitment to creating an environment … that is welcoming and supportive of diversity,” he said in a press release issued Tuesday.
But some students pointed to specific incidents in which they felt they were subjected to discriminatory treatment.
Graduate student Amanda Sasaki spoke of one incident in which a professor decided to show the film “Dances With Wolves,” a film that Sasaki said is regarded as racist by many American Indian students.
When Sasaki brought her complaint directly to the professor, she said the professor decided to allow the students to vote on whether it should be shown.
“It just created real division in the class,” she said. “(The professor) facilitated that
environment.”
Garcia said that when students have raised concerns, they have faced retaliation in a variety of forms from other students and professors.
“People are afraid to come out because of retaliation,” she said.
In one instance, Garcia said Family and Human Services professor Linda Forrest sent an e-mail to several of Garcia’s professors publicizing comments critical of the COE that Garcia had made in a confidential meeting.
“At that first meeting we agreed to confidentiality,” she said. “Linda Forest took some comments (I made), misconstrued them and sent them to my professors and others.”
Garcia filed an informal grievance with the Office of Affirmative
Action, which ruled in her favor.
Forrest said she couldn’t respond to the allegations.
“I’m not free to describe it because the student hasn’t signed a release for me to be talking about it,” she said.
In another incident, Sasaki said one professor encouraged her to leave the program because of her complaints. Sasaki is currently taking her practicum in Salem.
“She told me I should take some time off or go into a different program,” Sasaki said.
The professor also threatened
her progress toward certification, Sasaki said.
“She said that my dissatisfaction with the program was an indication of my unprofessionalism, which is something we get graded on,” she said. “That was a direct threat
toward my certification.”
Garcia said the COE’s lack of
sensitivity toward diversity issues has carried over into curriculum
development in the teacher
education program.
“If you do not make a huge
attempt to train culturally competent teachers, you’re going to have
a cycle of failing our students,”
she said.
Students have also alleged that the COE has failed to implement
its own “Infusion of Diversity”
policy, which requires every professor to integrate diversity into his
or her syllabi. The Office of Affirm
ative Action demanded the college “operationalize” the policy after
a student filed a grievance,
Garcia said.
Kaufman admitted it was a problem and that the COE is currently working on the operational part of the policy.
“We need to work on that,” he said. “(The issue) comes up because we don’t have an operational definition.”
He added, however, that the
policy was “a mere philosophical statement.”
“It was far more complex than
we anticipated,” he said. “It
was something we thought would be implementable.”
Many of the students expressed that their main concern wasn’t for themselves but for the community at large.
“The fact that the COE is creating such a hostile environment really reflects and models what students will learn for (when they teach) their own classes,” Sasaki said. “It’s the community that will suffer
the most.”
City Councilor Kelly, one of several community members who have lent their support to the student’s cause, concurred with Sasaki.
“One of the best ways we can make a positive difference for
the future of the community in terms of a safe and welcoming environment for everyone is through teachers; teachers are going to help shape the world view of today’s kids,” he said. “So I’m very
concerned when the COE falls short of its own policies in this area
because the negative impact can last for decades.”
According to a statement by Kaufman, University President Dave Frohnmayer will hire an outside consultant to assess the situation in the COE, a decision that Kaufman said he “strongly supports.”
“I believe the only way to get back to a climate of inclusiveness and equity is to have someone come in and do a review,” he said. “The climate is such that I believe
we can’t move forward without a third party.”

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