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The Rice Thresher
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by Rachel Rustin Thresher Editorial Staff
About 75 people attended the forum. The meeting began with a presentation and discussion led by Associate General Counsel Carlos Garcia and ended with an hour-long discussion about the problems and solutions to the college cheers controversy. The debate over college cheers was sparked last semester when four students wrote, and an additional 100 signed, a petition asking the university to look into the issue. Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho passed the issue to the college presidents, who, in turn, looked to the SA for help. The forum was the result of a plan to get student input. "I think it went really well. I think it was a great start to the dialogue that's going to happen," SA President Lindsay Botsford said. Garcia began the question-and-answer session of the evening with a short presentation about how the sexual harassment policy applies to college cheers. "[The policy is] intended to address conduct of a sexual nature that has the effect of substantially interfering or denying someone participation in programs that Rice provides," Garcia said. "What we're trying to do is protect your ability to partake in the university's programs and all of the opportunities that are here." Garcia explained that evaluating whether or not a situation falls under the policy involves looking at the actual conduct and its context. "In the end, the policy is ultimately an individual responsibility," Garcia said. "Each of us have the individual responsibility of ensuring that our conduct does not violate that policy." According to Garcia, when an institution receives a complaint about a violation of the sexual harassment policy, the institution must provide a response that is "reasonable, effective and prompt." In this instance, the administration is relying on the SA and colleges to provide this response. Garcia noted that although the sexual contents of some college cheers are tolerated on campus, they would not be viewed in the same light by the surrounding community. For the next hour, students asked Garcia questions. People requested clarifications about what exactly falls under the policy and definitions of words in the policy and asked about responsibility beyond the hedges. Mona Hicks, director of Student Activities and a Hanszen College resident associate, moderated a discussion about the issue. "I was pleasantly surprised that people were willing to see the other side and willing to take action and make changes and they were happy about it," Jones College senior Michelle Brand, one of the students who filed the complaint, said. A variety of concerns were brought up by those who support the cheers and by those who feel they create a sexually harassing environment. "Cheers are great," Hanszen senior Dinah Mack said about her experience with cheers during Orientation Week. "They foster school spirit. They are a great way to blow off steam, they are a great way to express yourself. But I have a huge problem with the cheers as we know them. ... There were certain activities that I didn't feel comfortable participating in because I didn't know when 100 people would be screaming obscenities, not necessarily at me, but in my presence." Wiess College junior Josh Ginsberg said he does not feel that the cheers should be changed, let alone removed. "If I say 'Will Rice sucks my dick,' I'm not actually envisioning anyone engaging in the act of oral sex with me," Ginsberg said. Ginsberg added that this does not suggest a position of power. "I don't see how it's misogynistic because there's nothing that says there's a woman going down on somebody. Additionally, I don't see that as a position of power because I know a lot of both men and women that actually find that a position of power - to be going down on somebody." Brand said she is happy the issue is being discussed after years of seeing people like her feeling silenced because they felt offended by the cheers. "This is not a free speech thing," Brand said. "I think you can compare this with hate speech." Brand has also urged students to move beyond discussion and to come up with solutions. "Opinions aren't important anymore because we already know that change has to happen. Now we need to think of solutions," Brand said. Hanszen junior Jamie Lisagor agreed and told those present that actions speak louder than words. Lisagor urged students in the colleges to do something about the situation. "I feel we can't really worry about what's going to offend who, what, when or where," Lovett College president Phil Alexander said. "I could wear an ugly shirt and it could offend people. I think it's the sexual nature we have to address and approach and think about rather than the offensive nature." While some disagreed, the overall consensus of the group was that the sexual nature of the cheers must be eliminated. Wiess junior Ben Horne urged those present to "take a positive approach" and not think of this as giving something up but rather as gaining people who felt isolated because of the cheers. "It was clear that one thing that was important was letting the colleges decide a large part of this and that we needed a standard of how to evaluate whether or not cheers were acceptable," Botsford, a Wiess junior, said. Will Rice College President Eden King already has an idea of how to go about changing things at Will Rice. "We want to continue [using] our old cheers with different language and make some new ones," King, a senior, said. "I like college cheers and I think they are a really important part of orientation and college unity in general." A cheer-writing contest is scheduled to begin in two weeks. It will end the week before Beer-Bike, when the new cheers will be taught in the colleges. Each college, including Martel, will get $133.33 from an Envision Grant to encourage writing new cheers. Many students at the forum felt the entire student body needed to be educated about the sexual harassment policy and the way it applies to Rice students - possibly during O-Week. Also discussed was the elimination of the sexually offensive language used in cheers during O-Week. These issues will be addressed by the O-Week Steering Committee and the coordinators at each college. Botsford and the college presidents are working to ensure that not only are the standards for the new cheers equal at all of the colleges, but that they meet the standards described by Garcia at the meeting. College cheers will be addressed at each college cabinet by the end of next week, at which time the presidents will draft a document to be presented to the SA. The contents of this statement will be determined by what students have to say at their cabinet meetings. "I totally believe that change made by students will end up lasting - they'll own it more. Change won't stay if it doesn't come from us," Brand said. "In four years, I don't think it will be a problem," she said. "As far as people saying they want the language or they don't want the language, in four years nobody is going to know the difference."
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