PULLMAN, Wash. — A community forum about how state of Washington Initiative-200 may affect Washington State University is set for Thursday evening, Nov. 12, at WSU.
In voting on Nov. 3, Washington citizens approved I-200, an act relating to prohibiting government entities from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.
To be held 5-6 p.m. in Compton Union Building Rooms 212-216, the event — “Initiative 200: Where Do We Go From Here?” — is sponsored by WSU Human Relations and Resources, the Office of Multicultural Student Services, and the Peace and Justice Club.
Forum participants will include WSU President Samuel Smith; and university administrators Ernestine Madison, Human Relations and Resources vice provost; Gus Kravas, Student Affairs vice provost; and Deborah Love, Center for Human Rights director.
According to Steve Nakata, interim director of Multicultural Student Services, the forum will deal with how the initiative could affect the university’s multicultural scholarships, recruiting programs, and retention programs, as well as the WSU admissions process, Women’s Transit and other gender specific programs.
“Many WSU faculty, staff and students have been worried for months about the possible passing of Initiative-200,” said Nakata. “Now that I-200 is approved, what exactly does it mean for those of us at WSU? This forum will allow community members to have a dialogue with WSU leaders in hopes of gaining a better understanding of how I-200 may impact WSU. One of the things to be explored in this forum is legal action related to this initiative. Some say we might not know the final impact of I-200 until the courts deal with it.”
For information contact Nakata, 509/335-7852; Malcolm Haworth, 509/333-4198; or Steve Kuehn, 509/335-9185.
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