The protest concluded with an evening meeting that included students, administrators, trustees and faculty. There, and in a 30-page written reply (copies of which are available from the President’s Office), President Cotter:

agreed to draft new language to better define racial harassment in the Student Handbook;

committed funds for diversity training for faculty, staff and students (SGA President Benjamin Humphreys ’00 has pledged diversity training for all Executive Committee and Presidents’ Council members);

commissioned a report for all personnel on harassment and hate crime statutes;

put the diversity requirement on the agenda for the Academic Affairs Committee (noting that only the faculty can make changes to the College curriculum);

agreed to find ways to strengthen Colby’s already solid commitment to affirmative action for all faculty and staff positions;

agreed to investigate Dartmouth’s program for a Native American scholarship program (noting that Native Americans already are eligible for the Bunche Scholars program);

agreed to attend the Presidents’ Council to support diverse representation in all Colby organizations;

agreed to a ceremony and installation of a plaque in the Pugh Center, by September if possible, recounting the history that led to the building;

agreed to create paid positions for students of color and others interested in mentoring incoming ALANA students;

agreed that it is desirable to have at least one person of color as a faculty member in residence on campus but opposed a rigid quota;

committed to having artwork and posters representing people of color installed in residence halls by the opening of school;

agreed to an article in the summer issue of Colby magazine; and

agreed to address racially insensitive statements in The Colby Echo while upholding the newspaper’s right to unabridged freedom of expression.

Cotter explained that he could not agree to:

add faculty or administrative positions, because that would violate Colby’s staffing cap;

reopen the issue of multicultural housing, which was addressed by a trustee commission in 1995;

separate race from other diversity issues handled in the Campus Community Committee by establishing a separate standing committee on race.