UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 31, Page 1
May 11, 1995
Administrators meet, talk with concerned students

     About two hours after a small burning cross was found in the
stairwell of Rodney F residence hall, University officials met with
more than 100 African-American students Monday night to discuss the
students' concerns, arising from an incident on the campus the week
before.
     The cross-burning incident "makes clear the seriousness of what
we're dealing with," University President David P. Roselle told
students at the start of the meeting. "There are either people out
there with a twisted sense of humor or people who are enemies of what
we want to accomplish at the University of Delaware," he said.
     The students organized a group called Students Against Continuous
Racial Ignorance Found in College Environments (S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E.),
after a student was threatened because of an opinion piece she wrote
about the Kappa Alpha fraternity displaying a Confederate flag in
connection with its Old South Ball. Her article appeared in The Review
May 2, and she received two threatening phone calls and a letter at
her Rodney residence hall in the days that followed. One call
threatened her residence hall. The fraternity later apologized for
flying the flag.
     On Friday, May 5, students met with Roselle and other
administrators to express their concerns about the incidents and how
they were handled, as well as other issues affecting African-American
students at the University. Also, Araya Debessay, professor of
accounting, as chairperson of the Commission to Promote Racial and
Cultural Diversity, convened a number of African-American faculty and
staff members to discuss the same issues with Roselle.
     Monday night the students presented a formal list of issues they
want the administration to address, including
        * an overhauling of the Department of Public Safety;
        * increasing the number of African-American students, faculty,
          staff and administrators; and
        * increasing the sensitivity of faculty.
     Roselle told the students he was "extremely sorry" for the
incident that occurred and said he hoped many of their concerns would
be addressed by the University's existing Commission to Promote Racial
and Cultural Diversity, which includes representatives from across the
campus.
     Debessay told the students Monday night that he was "saddened by
recent incidents" but he felt they would "lead us to higher ground."
"We will all be better off because of it," he said, and he commended
the students for taking action in a constructive way to make the
University a better place.
     Roselle noted that several issues raised also are long-term
concerns of the administration. For example, with regard to student
recruitment, he said that the number of acceptances by African-
American students for this fall exceeds last fall's figure, and it is
intended to keep increasing the total.
     He also pointed to the many persons of good will who are working
on student recruitment and retention and said that the successes
enjoyed by the University of Delaware are due to their good efforts.
     "The number of African-American students enrolled at the
University of Delaware is smaller than we would have it be," Roselle
said, "but it is the highest enrollment of African-American students
in the University's history."
     At the conclusion of the meeting, the students expressed their
willingness to assist the efforts of administrators to address their
concerns.