The BMG addressed a letter to the editor last week suggesting that ID checking policies at the gym and actions of Campus Police have targeted black male students, often suspecting them of not being College students.
"Lots of people were really surprised and also enraged that this was happening to Amherst students," said BMG member Travis J. Bristol.
President Tom Gerety, Dean of Students Ben Lieber, Director of Affirmative Action Hermenia Gardner, Athletic Director Peter Gooding and Chief of Campus Police John Carter met last Thursday to discuss ways of making the campus more welcoming to minorities. Potential solutions at the gym include a universal checking of IDs and restricting entry to the front door.
Bristol said that he was content with the way the College is approaching the issue. "I think we are heading in the right direction. We are not there yet but change does not happen overnight ... I am optimistic that we will get there."
Both Bristol and administrators have expressed hope that the two parties can talk about the issue in person rather than through public media. "I am satisfied with the steps that they are taking. It is unfortunate that it had to be addressed in a manner like this," said Bristol in reference to the letter to the editor and article about the BMG's concerns in last week's issue of The Student.
"[This is a] very, very serious issue that we take very seriously," said Gerety. "The College is absolutely opposed to profiling and moreover ... We recognize that unconscious profiling is a lurking danger ... A lurking danger in the way the mind typically works."
Lieber also said that the concerns of the BMG are being taken seriously. "I think people are taking the complaints very seriously and thinking very seriously about steps that can be taken," he said.
The College has decided to change the way people are admitted to the gym facility. Gerety explained that the school is planning on investing $20,000 to $30,000 on a swipe-card mechanism.
"It doesn't matter how careful one is. If one is causing offense, we need to reexamine how we are checking people," said Gooding.
"We're making some technology changes at the gym to be more consistent in access control," said Carter. He added that it is likely that all doors of the gym, except for the front entrance, will be locked from both sides.
"We need to tighten up some of the things we do here to make the facility secure for our students," said Donald Faulstick, who oversees the training facilities in the Athletic Center. He said that he is talking to other New England Small College Athletic Conference Schools and Ivy League schools to find out how they monitor their facilities. "I think we are finding a lot of good ideas here," he said.
Gooding also said that an all-or-none policy will not always be practical when there are games on campus and a number of visitors moving through the gym. "We have to be sensible about it," he said. He explained that, during such times, the area would be monitored by an adult.
The Campus Police will also be taking measures to address the views of the BMG that there is racial profiling on campus. "We are having a department meeting to the discuss the perception of this," said Carter.
Carter added that he is currently searching for an expert on racial profiling to conduct a training session with Campus Police. "[The training seminar] would be one that would help us understand the perspective of a minority when approached by a police officer," he said.
The BMG has emphasized that their concerns are more broad than just gym policy and the Campus Police. They have suggested that the College is generally unwelcoming to and suspicious of black male students.
Lieber suggested that the best way to approach this more vague complaint is to tackle the problems that can be readily addressed. "I think the most important thing is to focus on the more tangible issues," he said. "You hope that, over time, the climate follows."