ELESCOPE Tuesday, March 30, 1993
Palomar Community College, 1140 West Mission Road, San Marcos CA 92069-1487
Volume 46, Number 17
MEChA protests lack of faculty diversity By Paul Raineri
Staff Writer Students protesters chanted "No justice, no peace" as they made a public cry for support of their cause in a "March for equality" through Palomar's main campus March 29. The march came after a week of protesting two Governing Board members "racist" statements and what protesters feel is a lack of diversity in Faculty. At arally held after the march, Robert Jenkins, president of the Afrikan Amerikan Student Alliance and a protest leader, read a revised list of demands that the group want Palomar officials to meet before protesting is stopped. One of the demands originally made one week earlier was to begin negotiations with Superintendent/President Dr. George Boggs. On March 26 Jenkins met with Boggs to talk about the remaining demands. "He (Boggs) didn't have a problem with the demands. The only problem he had was the one about Jane Enwright,
Protesters march with the coffin of racism at a rally held on campus Monday in front of the flag pole. slow "'i•nnr¡itv hiring rate as well as comments made by Governing Board members Rita White and Harold Scofield sparked the protests.
• See M.E.Ch.A, page 3
Racism charged at Governing Board meeting By Paul Raineri
Staff Writer Sparks flew during the March
23 Governing Board meeting when student leaders demanded the iiDmediateresignation of Board members Harold Scofield and Dr. Rita White, citing insensitivity to minority hiring policies. Afrikan American Student Alliance PresidentRobertJenkins and MEChA President Ana Maria Prado-V erduzcocharged that statements made by the members were racist. "I view this whole problem will go away in time as minorities become much more educated... the problem I feel will go away probably in 10 to 20 years," Scofield said, at the Feb. 23 Board meeting. referring to the low number of minority faculty at Palomar Student protesters also construed a statement by White in the samemeetingtomean that minorities are not as qualified as Anglo candidates. White told the Board: "I expressed some concerns about the manner in which our hiring policies appeared to be deviating from a very strong concern for top quality."
Neither Scofield nor White stepped down. However, Scofield apologized for his statement and said that it was not his intention to hurt anyone. White claimed that her view towards the hiring policy was not racist. "When you people can prove bow I feel, then I will step down," White said. A new state mandate requires all community colleges to have at least 30 percent minority new hires by June 30. For the 1992-1993 year, Palomar's new faculty consists of zero minorities out of 10 new hires, making Palomar one of the worst offenders in this catagory for the state. As a result, an evaluation task force from the state chancellor's office will visit Palomar in April to make recommendations for improvement At the March 23 meeting, the large Boardroom overflowed with hundreds of students, staff and community members. Many waited for a turn to speak out against the lack of diversity on campus and the previous statements made by Board members. Robert Freeman, a Native American who teaches in the art department, had previously called for White's resignation. During
Mike LaJoie/
Reginald Owens, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, offers help in solving racism on campus. themeetingheaskedforScofield's statement to be read to the audience, using itto build a case against "the intellect of this Board." ReginaiOwens,presidentofthe local NAACP, said that be was not just there to address the problem but also to offer solutions. "My organization will work with your school to help solve this problem," Owens told the Board.
Owens went on to suggest that Boardmembersinvesttimeinsensitivity classes to help them becomemoreawareofminorityproblems. Studentspeakersexpressedhow the lack of minority faculty personally affected them and indicatedtheirneedformorerolemodels in the classroom. Earlier in the meeting, Margie
Ruzich, president of the faculty senate, read a resolution which formally addressed the problem. The resolution stated, "Faculty must take an active role in all aspects of faculty hiring." MECbA President Ana Maria Prado-Verduzco helped coordinate student protesting that extended out of the Board room and onto the campus' frQnt lawn.