House completes race report

The Pennsylvania Legislature is trying to do something about race relations on state campuses…. The Pennsylvania Legislature is trying to do something about race relations on state campuses.

A report from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Education Committee suggested that the Pennsylvania Task Force on Intergroup Relations in Higher Education reconvene to address racial tensions on Pennsylvania’s college campuses.

Early last year, the committee visited Pennsylvania State University, Pitt and the University of Pennsylvania to hear about race issues on college campuses. The committee also received information from other colleges throughout the state that the committee did not visit, according to state Rep. James Roebuck (D-Philadelphia), who sponsored the initial 2001 legislation that led to the hearings and report.

Much of the frustration students expressed came from the lack of an organized system to report issues and a general feeling of a lack of support or guidance from university officials about how to deal with issues concerning race, according to Roebuck.

“Certainly on college campuses there should be a greater degree of tolerance,” he said.

The task force members might include Democrats and Republicans from the state House and Senate, police officers, the attorney general and members of the education community, he added.

The report suggested the task force develop “a system for reporting and compiling hate-motivated or bias-related incidents or crimes on Pennsylvania campuses and establish incentives for institutions to record and report incidents,” according to a press release from the Office of Democratic Legislative Information.

The task force members would then send their guidelines for how to file complaints to all colleges and universities, libraries, local schools, municipal offices and the state police department, according to the press release.

The press release also said the report suggested linking the Intergovernmental Response Team of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission’s, the attorney general’s office’s, and the state police’s data on “racial or ethnically based incidents and complaints” so the information could be accessed immediately.

Roebuck said those three groups involved and the task force probably would all have access to this information.

After analyzing the data, the task force would present its findings to the General Assembly in an annual report.

According to Roebuck, the incentives given for compliance would not necessarily include money. He added that the Legislature would likely not choose to require colleges to comply through a system of penalties for schools that do not follow through.

Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, reports of racial tensions from students of Arabic descent have risen, Roebuck said.

The report also suggested that programs to combat racial tensions on college campuses and in grade schools be organized. He added the programs might teach participants about different values and ways of life since many students come from different backgrounds.

“The inclination of some individuals to engage in racial discrimination or harassment doesn’t spring from nowhere once they hit college. It is rooted in their experiences before college,” Roebuck said in the press release.

According to Roebuck, during his 18 years in office, the House Education Committee addressed racial issues on two previous occasions. This time, though, the committee made several suggestions to address the problem, so actions may follow.

A member of the House could introduce a bill recommending the report’s suggestions be implemented as early as Jan. 27, when the Legislature reconvenes. The voting would then depend on when the House leadership schedules it. Governor-elect Ed Rendell could also initiate policy, Roebuck said.