REDWOODS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Meeting of the
Multicultural and Diversity Committee
Of the Academic Senate
 Eureka: 7351 Tompkins Hill Road, CA100
 Arcata: 435 Crestwood Drive
 Del Norte: 883 West Washington Boulevard, Room E3
 Point Arena: 41341 Harris Ranch Road
Friday, September 16, 2011
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Minutes
1. Call to Order
Meeting was called to order at 11:25am. Present members: Philip Mancus, Michael Dennis,
Ruth Moon, Justine Shaw, George Potamianos, Ana Maria Mease. Guests arriving later Deanna Herrera-Thomas and Vincent Peloso.
2. Introductions and Public Comments: Members of the audience are invited to make
comments regarding any subject appropriate to the Multicultural and Diversity
Committee
No members of the public were present initially, although Deanna Herrera-Thomas and
Vincent Peloso arrived during the last 30 minutes of the meeting.
3. Approve the September 2, 2011 Meeting Minutes
George Potamianos moved to approve the minutes of the Sept 2, 2011 meeting, motion was
seconded by Michael Dennis, motion was unanimously passed and the minutes were thus
approved.
4. Action Item
4.1 Approve Updated Short- and Long-term Multicultural and Diversity Committee
2011-2012 Goals, Justine Shaw
Initial move to approve “Updated Short and Long Term Multicultural and Diversity
Committee 2011-2012 Goals,” by George Potamianos was seconded by Michael Dennis.
George then submitted a friendly amendment to change to last sentence from “Organize a
diversity-related speaker/workshops for Convocation 2012,” to “Organize a diversityrelated speaker/workshops for an upcoming Convocation,” this motion to amend was
seconded by Michael Dennis, and after brief discussion, George Potamianos moved, and
Ana Maria Mease seconded, that the goal statement be approved as revised, which motion
was unanimously approved.
5. Discussion Items, Justine Shaw
5.1 ESOL Program
It was noted by Ana Maria Mease that ESOL has in the past been under the English
department. Committee members efforts to get the ESOL classes into the Fall 2011
schedule last spring were met with the reply that classes would have to be removed from
the schedule to accommodate the ESOL classes, but no further effort was made to do so.
BSI committee was mentioned as working on a plan for Basic Skills, and it was noted that
the ESOL consultants have already created a plan for ESOL implementation. Further
ESOL discussion was tabled until the next meeting when Toby Green may be able to
provide more information.
5.2 Diversity Training
Justine Shaw reported on her e-mail exchanges with Ahn Fielding, HR Director, who
affirmed that diversity training would be a good idea. Justine Shaw noted that diversity
training is a legal mandate on the District, and that because of these legal implications, the
District should not expect to rely on the committee to provide training. Ahn Fielding
requested Justine Shaw recommend some names of potential diversity trainers. Justine
Shaw then recommended calling HSU’s Multicultural and Diversity Center.
5.3 BP/AP 3430 Prohibition of Harassment Policy and Procedure
Justine Shaw reported the committee member Dana Maher had already submitted her
comments on this policy to her, and solicited comments from present members for
presentation to the Senate later that day. Ruth Moon stated that there are actually seven
policies that relate to discrimination, harassment, and complaint, that should be considered
for revision together since there are redundancies and even conflicting statements among
them. However, she admitted that is not the purview of this committee. The committee
then went through both documents and compiled comments and suggestions within each
paragraph to be reported to the Senate. The MDC comments were:
•
Seems to be a sexual harassment policy with some add-ons for other protected
classes; should be re-written to more fairly balance/ better integrate all;
•
There should be public posting of how to find forms, offices, and procedures,
particularly for students (catalog?)
•
There needs to be leeway for cultural variability in what is deemed to be offensive
•
List and language needs to be consistent in both documents; re: religion – publicly
displayed identifications and customs are not mentioned for protection
•
Need language change to clarify that can be used for classroom instruction; need to
protect free speech and classroom instruction in context; we want instructors to have the
academic freedom to use any materials in the classroom in their teaching as long as they
are put in appropriate context and serve an academic purpose
•
“reasonable person of the same gender” as the standard for measuring hostile
intent; why same gender? Why not just “a reasonable person”?
•
Hostility also has cultural variability; should be accounted for; recognize diversity
in all of its forms including different communication styles
•
Consensual Relationships; how can they be prohibited; We have existing
relationships that violate this (should follow under nepotism policy); issue is whether the
people involved are following fair procedures, or are they misusing power, and not
following procedures
•
Use of sexually explicit material in the classroom, Concern with need to check with
administrator; needs clarification to protect free speech and classroom instruction
•
Mandate to supervisors to report all incidents does not specify to whom and how
•
Having the policy apply to scholarships is problematic since many are awarded
specifically based on race or gender or other protected statuses
•
Language threatening employees with punitive action requires that employees
receive timely, fair, and adequate training so that they know what behaviors might result in
these actions
(Note: These comments were also recorded as/ submitted to the Senate through Sally
Frazier; they will be considered for formal approval at our next MDC meeting)
5.4 Implementation of Short- and Long-Term Multicultural and Diversity Committee
Goals
This discussion was tabled until next meeting due to lack of time.
6. Report
6.1 Multicultural and Diversity Committee Fall 2011 Activity, Ryan Emenaker
This report was also tabled since Ryan Emenaker was not present.
7. Open Forum/Announcements
Vinnie Peloso announced the Book of the Year has many relevant themes to MDC and
invited the committee to participate in planning events. The MDC will invite Vinnie to
come to our next meeting to discuss possibilities with the committee.
8. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 12:45. George Potamianos moved to adjourn and Ana
Maria Mease seconded the motion.
Public Notice—Nondiscrimination:
College of the Redwoods does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion, age, gender,
sexual orientation, color or disability in any of its programs or activities. College of the Redwoods
is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Upon request
this publication will be made available in alternate formats. Please contact Sally Frazier,
Administrative Secretary to the Academic Senate, 7351 Tompkins Hill Road, Eureka, CA 95501,
(707) 476-4259, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday—Friday.
Next Meeting:
Friday, October 7, 2011