Planners Revamp A WARE

In response to criticisms of last year's program, this winter's AWARE week will implement several structural changes to increase student response to the issue of campus racism, organizers said yesterday.

Beginning December 4, AWARE week, "Actively Working Against Racism and Ethnocentrism," will last three days as opposed to last year's five, said Lina A. Bryam, the house liaison coordinator for the program.

Feeling of Continuity

Committee members said they plan to hold events throughout the year, rather than compress them into one short time period. "We want to give it a feeling of continuity," Bryam said.

Students are also working to increase publicity for the events, said Assistant Dean for Race Relations and Minority Affairs Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle, who initiated the program last year in response to incidents of campus racism nationwide.

She added that students, who have been the major force in planning this year's program, have done more postering than last year and said she hopes house newsletters will carry announcements of AWARE week events.

Changes in this year's program have been implemented partially as a response to criticism of last winter's effort, students said. Many students have expressed mixed feelings about AWARE week, calling attention to what they described as a low turnout at the various speeches, films and forums held in February.

Rachna K. Dhanda '91, a member of the AWARE peer education committee, a group not involved in the planning for AWARE week, said she attended a workshop last year in North House in which only "four to five" of the 10-15 participants were students.

Dhanda also said that she thought most of the people attending the programs were already interested in the subject of race and racism.

"It was kind of like converting the converted," Dhanda said. But Hernandez-Gravelle said she did not think all of last year's activities were poorly attended.

"The measurement of good and bad attendance is subjective," she said, citing the audience of more than 200 people at the week's keynote speech.

This winter's AWARE week is being completely funded by the College, Bryam said. She added that the committee will ask for additional financial support from the houses that host the workshops.

Last year organizers did not have enough money and had to apply for a grant from the Undergraduate Council to carry out the program.

Students organizers of the program said they continue to believe in the ideas behind AWARE week.