[media-credit name=’HAILEY COHEN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]A heated crowd of students interrogated University of Wisconsin administrators and student representatives about efforts to enhance the college experience for minorities at the Plan 2008 Student Forum Friday.

The Multicultural Student Coalition sponsored the event and asked former vice chancellor of student affairs Paul Barrows to be the keynote speaker at the forum, which included a panel with Chancellor John Wiley and other UW administrators.

In his speech, Barrows encouraged student activism, suggesting that "agitation" is an effective way to draw attention to diversity issues.

"Students have played a more fundamental role than the activist who lingers," Barrows said. "They have served to provide legitimacy and urgency to the issues at hand that would otherwise not come from any other source."

One question asked of the panel concerned the lack of commitment to exit surveys, which seek information about why students drop out of UW.

Bernice Durand, associate vice chancellor for diversity and climate, said when they were able to get in touch with former students, exit surveys showed the reported reasons for dropping out were the same for both white and minority students: money, personal problems, family issues and grades.

Jennifer Knox, the Associated Students of Madison representative on the panel, said the university should dedicate more time and money to finding out why students drop out of UW.

"You track them down when you want them to pay that bill … so you need to find them and put them back where they need to be," Knox said, directing her comment to Durand.

Another panel member, United Council of UW Students representative David Glisch-Sanchez, said he is also an advocate for stronger university efforts in exit surveys.

In reaction to Durand's observations, Glisch-Sanchez said, "financial issues are race issues."

Glisch-Sanchez cited a UW study showing 43 percent of working minority families in Wisconsin are below the poverty line, compared to 18 percent of working white families.

Wiley said he supported following up with students who leave the university before graduation.

However, Wiley said, the graduation rate for students of color at UW is more than twice the national average, although he quickly added it was still not high enough.

"We'd like to wake up tomorrow morning and find that everything's fixed," Wiley said. "Well, I have to content myself with saying that I want to wake up tomorrow morning and find that everything is a little better."

Barrows' son, Tshaka Barrows, flew in from California to attend Friday's forum.

When he requested a show of hands from the audience and the panel to represent who sees the campus climate as a crisis, Wiley and Provost Patrick Farrell — second in command in UW administration — were the only two members of the panel not to raise their hands.

"The problem is I don't walk into this room and taste or smell or feel a sense of urgency or crisis," Tshaka Barrows said. "I didn't when I first came into this room — five, seven, eight years ago — and I don't now."

In response, Wiley noted that the long-term goals of Plan 2008 would take time to achieve, and said the administration does not have as much power as many students assume.

"I'm sorry it takes that long," Wiley said. "We're doing everything we can think of to step it up."

Still, Knox said UW students have been promoting the issues of diversity and campus climate for 20 years and accused Wiley of being "not at all in touch" with students who are dealing with the issues.

Wiley said there are advantages in attending a large university like UW because the diverse population makes the experience more interesting, and added the goal of getting an education at UW is being able to absorb such diversity.

Glisch-Sanchez, on the other hand, questioned the university's commitment to diversity.

"Tokenism is another flavor of racism," he said.

Paul Barrows' keynote speech

In his speech, Paul Barrows encouraged student activism and the "agitation" of university administrators in order to bring issues of diversity to the forefront.

Barrows said such student agitation is a channel of communication to make other students, faculty, staff and others around campuses realize the prevalence of such concerns.

"What wakes them up from their slumber or failure to take action and resonance is a good dose of agitation," Barrows said.

Barrows noted being an activist requires determination from the students and said it may be a frustrating process.

"If you are really doing this right," Barrows said, "you're advocating the goal to need more against an administration that has less to give."

According to Barrows, UW was one of the first universities in the United States to admit African-Americans and other students of color.

Barrows said while most alumni of color reflected positively on the value of their education and the reputation of UW, their actual campus experience was less commendable.

"They had a different relationship with Bucky," Barrows said. "Even those who graduated, many left with a bad taste in their mouth."