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WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM NEWS SLRP DIVERSITY SLRP foram seeks student input DA committee fosters dialogue Continued from page I They explained that this plan is still very fluid. Zerbe said the anticipated strategic outcomes for students would be "to think critically, know global ly, communicate effectively, create insightfully, en gage responsibly, learn experientially, achieve per sonal and career goals, while respecting diversity." Some academic initiatives included in the plan are strengthening internships and study abroad pro grams, an advanced career center, a January term, and a stronger Center for Principled Problem Solv ing. Favolise said that all the programs, especially the Center for Principled Problem Solving, highlight core values at Guilford. The Center for Principled Problem Solving applies Quaker core values to the world. SLRP II focuses on making values Guilford holds, like applying Quaker core values to working in the world, more integrated into the college. Patchouli Oerther, student committee member of the SLRP II, said another primary goal is to make the Guilford education more applicable to life outside of Guilford once students graduate. Student representatives are chosen by the student body and the student governments. Other student members of the committee and subcommittees in clude Trevor Coming, Nancy Klosteridis, and Victor Vincent. Oerther noted a recent New York Times article that said college students often do not take jobs in the fields they studied while attending college. "We want to put as much real-life focus into a Guilford education as we .can," Oerther said. "We want to prepare students for a lifetime of learning, for service, and for personal success, however grad uates define that. The Quaker and liberal arts tradi tion is to focus on the whole person as well as all things practical." Ty Buckner, associate vice president for commu nications and marketing, said that SLRP is a road map that will guide Guilford well into the next de cade. "All other plans support the goals of the strategic plan," said Buckner. "This includes the integrated marketing plan, which is designed to promote Guil ford's distinctiveness and raise the profile of the col lege in the eyes of prospective students, alumru and other supporters and constituent groups." Favolise said that once this plan is implemented, it will strengthen the college's position in the mar ketplace, making Guilford a more competitive insti tution that would be more often a first-choice school. He said that placing emphasis on studying abroad and January terms would help attain that goal. Some attending the fomm, like Teresa Sanford, director of user services, wondered where funding for the plan would come from. Favolise said the SLRP II was initially forming their plans without consideration of funding, which will be an important later concentration. Those taking part in the forum also questioned how much consideration SLRP II gave to CCE stu dents. "I'm wondering if the needs of CCE students are being taken into consideration," said Sanford. Others at the forum voiced other needs of CCE students, like Grade Harris, CCE outreach coordina tor, who said CCE students are very interested in af fordable campus housing either on campus grounds or within close walking distance. "This will allow CCE students to (convert) travel time into study and research time," Harris said, "as well as allowing convenience in accessibility to the many respurce^and ac^vities on campus." The forums on SLRP II will continue through the spring and drafts will be provided to the commu nity. The passage of SLRP II is tentatively slated for October 2010. Open to all students and faculty, the final forum is on Wednesday, Feb. 17, from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. in the Founders Gallery. Continued from page I said Sherry Giles, assodate professor of justice and policy studies. "We'll ask for what faculty struggles with and also get input from students on what they would like to see happening." Where the Diversity Plan sets guidelines aimed at increased diversity, the DA Committee works to execute those goals. The Feb. 4 meeting fo cused on ways to initiate the "action" for which the committee is named. "We will collect data on the climate, and then show what (the) faculty is doing right and how it can improve," said Michele Malotky, assistant professor of biology. In an effort to keep an open ear to the community, the committee plans to hold commuruty-wide forums on diversity, hold anti-radsm work shops, and to "use timelines where we meet with people and check in on progress a week later," said Jeff Favolise, assistant to the president for planning and management. Favolise explained that the committee is not singly focused on a critique of Guilford's shortcomings. Members discussed the need to acknowledge the college's current efforts to foster diversity. "We want to increase and improve the good that has already been done," said Favolise. "To get this committee in front of the community and basically listen and ask how we can best serve them." The DA Committee saw the beginnings of that open dialogue when Gil- ian M'Maitsi, junior, offered her perspective on Guilford's atmosphere of diversity. "Some students come here and don't see issues of diversity because Guil ford is a similar element to their previous environment," said M'Maitsi. "I've been in Greensboro for 10 years and I can say that there is not a lot of diversity on this campus. If there were more diversity, there would be more opportunity for students to participate. There would be less apathy." The DA Committee is prepared to challenge this indifference. "As opposed to just talking, we have to start doing," said Malotky. In answer to the Diversity Plan's call to "assemble a committee that is as diverse as the college is and hopes to become^" the^rjmp is composed of faculty, students, and staff. The Feb. 4 meeting also included Charles Cameron, a staff representa tive, Edwins Gwako, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, and Grade Harris, CCE outreach coordinator. The DA Committee hopes to increase the diversity of perspectives on the panel by collaborating with Community Senate, holding community forums, and inviting students to get involved. Community Accountability Project reforms judicial system By Crosby Blair Staff Writer Up until now, judidal hearings at Guilford have typically been the same: a one-on-one discussion with a hearing officer from cam pus life. After receiving the e-mail subpoena, students have gone to Founders Hall to await their fine and/or community service hours. As of last semester, the Com munity Accountability Project (C.A.P.), however, is a new option for students who find themselves facing a violation and possible sanctioning. C.A.P. is a model of restorative justice that engages students as collaborative partidpants in their own judicial hearing. Restorative justice is a form of conflict resolution that incorpo rates members of the community. C.A.P. allows faculty, staff, stu dents, parents and even alumni to voice their opinion in an open, ac cepting setting. "If people take their member ship in the community seriously, this is a perfect way to demonstrate it," said Sandy Bowles, director of student judidal affairs and facilita- students to think about how their actions affect the greater commu nity." After attending a conference and learning about a restorative justice practice in place at the Uni versity of Colorado at Boulder, Bowles, who has a master's degree in conflict resolution, dedded to shift the emphasis of the judidal process away from a "cookie-cut- tor of all C.A.P. hearings. According to Bowles, the main reasoning behind restorative jus tice is that by incorporating vari ous voices from the community, the student will realize the broader consequences of their actions. The hearing process is essen tially the same: a campus life of ficer must first find the student responsible of committing a vio lation. The change occurs when it comes to punishment. If a student is found responsible, the new method is to send them to C.A.P. for sanctioning, where a community panel of two or three will listen to the ind- dent report, discuss those affected, and determine a fitting sanction. Last semester, C.A.P. was only an option for lev- ter, legalistic" standard to one that el-one violations, such as failure to is "inherently reflective" and flex- comply or underage alcohol. But ible. judicial process," stated Bowles, Sam Jenkins, a senior who's "a reflective process where we ask been found responsible for an esti- according to Bowles, it now in cludes level-two non-suspendable violations as well. "I wanted more transparency and student involvement in the mated 15 violations over his four- year career at Guilford, said he thought the CAP process would be "beneficial" to students getting in trouble for the first time and "more relevant" when it comes to punishment. "I never had to do the major ity of my community service hours anyway," states Jenkins, "some one would just write them off as complete." No longer is sanction ing a stiff fine and auto matic community ser vice hours. "It's about what the student needs, what they voice," said Bowles. In determining a sanc tion, panel community members are encour aged to incorporate three different factors: the impact a student had on the community, the all-encompassing picture of "There's an assumption in high- the student at Guilford, and pro- er education institutions that stan- viding the student an opportunity dards equal fairness," said Bowles, to branch out. "but every student is different and For example, if a student ex- leams differently." pressed concerns about addic- "If people take their membership in the community seriously, (C.A.P) is a perfect woy to demonstrate it." Sandy Bowles, director of student judicial affairs tion, a possible sanction might be attending the personal growth group in The Hut with Ernest Mc Coy, a part-time counselor at the college. If a student voiced prob lems with time management, a possible sanction might be a visit to The Learning Commons. If a vi- oIatic)n involved an RA, a possible sanction could be a simple conver sation and apology. "I think this would've been a great tool during my underclass years as there is less emphasis on fines and punishment," said senior Jonathan Doyle, who has served on C.A.P. as a community repre sentative. Doyle, who is interested in me diation, thinks C.A.P. "is a great way to turn sanctions into com munity building work." By accepting responsibility and being frank about mistakes, people who might otherwise feel tense are able to reconnect. "It makes the ju dicial process a little less anxiety- ridden," said Doyle. "It's not about putting things back exactly the way they were because that's impossible," said Bowles. "It's about restoring rela tionships with those affected." -I
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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