University students and administrators agreed that this weekend's diversity symposium was extremely successful and was a valuable first step towards addressing the sometimes-thorny issue of diversity at the University.
Black Fraternal Council Co-Chairman Michael McPheeters praised the scope of the event, saying, "the conference addressed a lot of pertinent issues regarding diversity and race relations."
Asst. Dean of Students Pablo J. Davis also praised the conference, calling it "really valuable."
Davis said it was helpful to hear from a wide range of viewpoints.
"The conference provided insight into the perspectives of a wide range of institutions. Collectively having a couple of dozen institutions present was the greatest value of the symposium," he said.
As part of the symposium, several roundtable groups composed of students, faculty and administrators assembled to discuss various aspects of diversity, from policy and procedure to faculty recruitment.
Davis took part in a roundtable discussion of the implications for student recruitment with respect to diversity.
"We shared points of view on where we are and where we need to go," he said.
He added that the group came to a realization that while the University's policies have been criticized, there is a solid foundation to build on.
The student recruitment group was divided into subcommittees, which were charged with formulating suggestions for altering current recruitment policies.
Davis said the committees will intend to work to make the University a more diverse environment.
Areshini Pather, president of the University's chapter of the National Organization for Women also praised the event.
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