Correction appended
Ohio University’s five senates sent a letter to OU President Roderick McDavis on on Oct. 3, highlighting their intent to form a task force to combat discrimination on campus.
The meeting between senate leaders Hannah Clouser of Student Senate, Ian Armstrong of Graduate Student Senate, Joe McLaughlin of Faculty Senate, Jennifer Romero of Classified Senate and Jessica Wingett of Administrative Senate was prompted as a result of the recent incidents surrounding "racially insensitive paintings" on the OU graffiti wall. The letter acknowledged the existence of ongoing “racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia” at OU and the senates’ collective goal to put a stop to it.
“It’s monumental that all five senates sat down to make this letter to send to President McDavis,” Student Senate President Hannah Clouser said. “This has not happened in the past, to our knowledge.”
In an email reply to the senates, McDavis expressed his appreciation for the senates’ response to his call-to-action and his support for their efforts to combat discrimination.
“I accept your recommendation and am happy to authorize the formation of your task force," McDavis said in response to the senates' initial letter. “I also would like to go one step further and offer you a space on the Office of the President’s website to share the taskforce’s (sic) ongoing work."
The senates have not yet decided what to do to put their plans into action, Clouser said. The task force’s requirements may take the form of mandatory cultural competency classes, cultural sensitivity training or a program similar to Alcohol Edu.
Representatives from the task force have been meeting to set goals, Clouser said. When completed, the task force is expected to comprise 15 people, which will include representatives from each senate and one representative from the regional campuses.
Student Senate Vice President Courteney Muhl said with its four representatives, Student Senate has the largest amount of representation on the task force. The Student Senate representatives will be actively seeking input and pushing initiatives to the student body.
“We really want people to know that we want to hear from every community,” Muhl said.
The task force will be the main group holding open forums and discussions with students and people in the community, Student Senate Chief of Staff Landen Lama said.
“All senates coming together is positive and will bring good change in the future,” Lama said. “It shows that we are all in this fight together.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the date senate members sent a letter to OU President Roderick McDavis. The date was Oct. 3. Additionally, the article incorrectly stated that the task force would not be holding discussions. The task force will be holding open forums and discussions. The article has been updated to show the most accurate information.
