Five members of the On the Wake of Emancipation Campaign met Friday with Provost Robert Shelton, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Sue Kitchen and Director of Minority Affairs Archie Ervin to discuss their 14 demands for making UNC a safer place for students of color.
Members of OWEC presented Shelton with a list of their demands on the steps of South Building on April 2, asking Shelton to schedule a meeting with them. "For an initial meeting, it went really well," said Kristi Booker, a junior member of OWEC. "Hopefully, if we continue on this road, we'll get things done."
The group addressed each demand individually, although members are hesitant to disclose specifics about solutions discussed. "We've gotten started on some specific strategies for addressing our demands," said Jasmine McGhee, a sophomore member of OWEC. "Everyone (at the meeting) seemed really committed to addressing issues brought forth by the campaign."
OWEC members are asking that University officials work to guarantee a safe campus environment for UNC's black students.
Among other things, they hope to establish mandatory sensitivity training for faculty, staff and University police; increase the recruitment and retention of black faculty and students; and provide more funding for the Office of Minority Affairs.
Kitchen said the issues discussed were broad but attainable. "I think (the students) identified important and large concerns ... These are really ongoing efforts," she said. "The areas that were identified are areas the University is committed to, so we're going to continue to make progress."
The 14 demands closely resemble the 22 demands drawn up by the Black Student Movement in 1968 and then revised in 1997. "These are basically the same things," Booker said. "We need action to be taken on them, and they're all equally important."
Administrators interacted cordially with representatives, said Tyra Moore, a senior member of OWEC and Black Student Movement president. "They were very responsive and very open to suggestions," she said. "They were all on the same page."
Moore regretted the little time students and administrators had to discuss issues but felt there was a strong commitment to progress by everyone in the room. "At this point, I feel very confident that the University is willing to put forth the effort ... to obtaining our demands," she said.
