Chancellor Philip DiStefano, Provost Russ Moore, Chief Operating Officer Kelly Fox and other university administrators met with student leaders today to discuss improving the experience on campus so that all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, feel part of the community, valued and safe.
The meeting followed a bigoted incident that occurred recently on the CU Boulder campus where a woman, not affiliated with the university, directed racist language at two students.
After the incident, the Black Student Alliance, with support from the CU Student Government, issued demands asking the campus to adhere to and address policies, enhance awareness and add additional training related to discrimination, harassment and racism at CU Boulder.
“We had a productive meeting and reached agreement on a path forward,” DiStefano said.
Administrators and students agreed to immediately collaborate to post fliers of the woman sought by CUPD in campus buildings and, if apprehended, exclude her from campus.
“Other issues such as enhancing cultural competency of staff, faculty and fellow students will take longer to address, and I am committed to working with students on our campus to increase awareness and achieve lasting behavioral change,” DiStefano said.
DiStefano and leadership are organizing follow up meetings with administrators and student leaders to address concerns around training, reporting practices and awareness of racist acts and microaggressions in and outside the classroom.
“The Black Student Alliance and other student organizations are grateful that Chancellor DiStefano and university leaders agreed to come to the table to address these issues,” said the student leaders involved in the meeting. “We recognize that there is a lot of work to do in creating equitable reform for students impacted by underlying systemic failures built into the institution. We will work with the chancellor and university administration, collaboratively, to cement these policies and institutional changes.”
Chancellor DiStefano committed to providing another update to the campus at the end of next week.
