Otterbein’s Board of Trustees approved a proposal to allow alcohol on campus with restrictions after a short reading and no discussion.
The decision to amend the student-led policy was a two-minute footnote in a meeting where the Board deliberated issues of diversity and inclusion and Otterbein’s budget.
Krendl addressed a list of requests from a student coalition, which was formed in response to an incident where a student made a racial slur out loud in a Residence Hall.
“I think it was a very legitimate response to an incident on campus and students made their case,” Krendl said.
In response to a request for more diversity training, Krendl pointed to a “Great Expectations” meeting to be held May 5 where faculty and administrators will be present. Replying to a demand that Otterbein instate a Chief Diversity Officer by the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Krendl stated that a group of two faculty, two students and one staff member would be attending the Annual National Conference for Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education, or NCORE.
The list included items involving Residence Life such as “RAs document and report all acts of hate to the Otterbein Police Department” and “Strengthen residence hall diversity programming to increase intercultural dialogue and competency.” Krendl stated that housing staff will be working to address these issues.
Krendl reiterated a point that was made in Otterbein’s initial email response to the incident, which was that students should report incidents of hate.
“We spend so much time talking about core values and our mission and our vision over the last few years and it’s a really good sign as Jefferson said in the video [10tv news report], if you see something you need to report it,” said Krendl, later adding that students must be sold on the core values.
Amelia Gramling, senior student trustee and WGSS major, responded to the statement.
“Part of what’s difficult in reporting any events of hate speech on campus is that much to my chagrin, in my lifetime, anonymous social media applications have become really popular. So, Yik Yak, where you can say whatever you want without any accountability, your name’s not attached to it, has been probably one of the most, I think pertinent sites of racial hatred on campus,” said Gramling.
Gramling referenced a post on Yik Yak where a user had posted “Go back to picking cotton” after the diversity rally. Gramling said she had heard of other institutions banning the app but said she was not suggesting that.
Chair of the Finance Committee and Trustee Jim Rutherford said, “Anonymous social sites, to me, is no different from putting on a white hood.”
Another trustee said, “We have a responsible use policy for our networking on campus and even though they think it’s anonymous, it’s all tracked.”
Krendl concluded the conversation stating that reacting decisively to these kinds of situations is important for Otterbein.
Rutherford, speaking for the Finance Committee, said that a budget that was projected to be at a $1.9 million deficit at the beginning of the year is now down to $240,000 through March 31. Rutherford said that about half of the savings made between the two projections was due to unfilled positions.
