In the final installment of a three-part series, UW Chancellor John Wiley held a forum Thursday allowing students and staff to hold open discussion about issues that have arisen since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Vice Chancellor Paul Barrows said the purpose of the forum was for students to speak with the chancellor about their concerns.
“We want to see if we can do anything to alleviate any and all concerns that are out there,” Barrows said.
The risk of a terrorist act in Madison was one of the foremost concerns expressed.
“It’s pretty clear that students in the Midwest don’t feel as comfortable as they once did,” Wiley said. “There’s a general feeling of anxiety, especially with this threat of anthrax.”
Wiley admitted to having moments of uncertainty himself.
“I got an envelope with no return address, and I sat there and looked at it, and I thought pretty hard,” Wiley said. “Fortunately, it turned out to be a spare set of keys wrapped in bubble wrap.”
Many students also expressed concerns about campus security, but Wiley was reluctant to go into too much detail about extra precautions being taken.
“Security is an awkward topic,” Wiley said. “If I tell you everything, I would be undercutting the usefulness of the measures that are being taken.”
Wiley also praised the campus police force, telling students UW police have a good network of city, county and state databases, and that the campus police are very proactive, trying to anticipate and head off trouble before it begins.
Another main concern among students was how the events of Sept. 11 will affect diversity efforts on campus.
“Recent events have not changed our policy of internationalizing this campus, but have actually emphasized the importance of students getting a broader experience of other countries,” Wiley said.
Wiley told the audience he felt the three “diversity” credits undergraduates must complete were “a vital part of the undergraduate experience,” but three credits was obviously not enough to offer a broad range of diversity education. However, Wiley was against the idea of increasing the number of mandatory diversity credits students must take.
“The problem is that there are so many different kinds of diversity — even 120 [mandatory] credits of diversity would not be enough to ensure that we had a base-level knowledge of every culture we should know about,” Wiley said.
“I don’t think the answer is more mandatory education,” he continued. “Most people who exhibit negative and racist behaviors did not gain these positions through logic, and therefore will not be able to reason their way out of them.”
However, Wiley did agree that more diversity education opportunities should be made available for those who choose to use them.
Most students seemed satisfied with the information shared at the forum and were glad that Wiley held this series of meetings.
“I think what the chancellor is trying to do is excellent,” senior Lindsay Eysnogle said. “He did a good job of trying to put fears to ease and make the campus feel safe.”
