Organization reforms to fight biases
Virginia Moore
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: News
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Amid the rush of midterm madness, a handful of students spent the evening of Sept. 27 sitting around a table revitalizing an organization many find important to the Gonzaga community.
The Alliance Forum, true to its name, is a student-run organization that helps victims of hate or bias related issues meet with a support network of University administrators and trained peers. The forum includes three main areas-response/report, support and education-with chairs to direct smaller sub-committees.
"One of our goals is to help students navigate the system and report to the appropriate authorities," Kristine Reeves, adviser for the group, said.
The Alliance Forum also hopes to help the University centralize reporting so statistics can be generated and analyzed. Reeves said that documented proof of hate and bias crimes could indicate the necessity for safety measures such as better-lit streets or added security.
Despite the response and support that the Alliance Forum is now providing, the organization had a rocky beginning. Though the club was in existence last year, there wasn't enough direction for it to reach its potential.
"We want to go somewhere this year," Report/Response Committee Chair Greena George said. "We want to be more specific in what we do and who we are as group."
Definition plays a large part in the success of the Alliance Forum. The Sept. 27 meeting included the adoption of mission and vision statements that will establish a comprehensive yet flexible theme for the group.
"Because leadership rolls over each year we want the vision statement to be self-expressing with the club's attitude," George said.
Finalizing this year's mission statement is just one part of constructing the foundation for the Alliance Forum. Elections, training, mock meetings and arranging for resources within the administration are the main goals for the fall semester. Beginning January, the Alliance Forum will take cases and put their skills to work, proving that even a passion for justice and advocacy needs a process.
The Alliance Forum, true to its name, is a student-run organization that helps victims of hate or bias related issues meet with a support network of University administrators and trained peers. The forum includes three main areas-response/report, support and education-with chairs to direct smaller sub-committees.
"One of our goals is to help students navigate the system and report to the appropriate authorities," Kristine Reeves, adviser for the group, said.
The Alliance Forum also hopes to help the University centralize reporting so statistics can be generated and analyzed. Reeves said that documented proof of hate and bias crimes could indicate the necessity for safety measures such as better-lit streets or added security.
Despite the response and support that the Alliance Forum is now providing, the organization had a rocky beginning. Though the club was in existence last year, there wasn't enough direction for it to reach its potential.
"We want to go somewhere this year," Report/Response Committee Chair Greena George said. "We want to be more specific in what we do and who we are as group."
Definition plays a large part in the success of the Alliance Forum. The Sept. 27 meeting included the adoption of mission and vision statements that will establish a comprehensive yet flexible theme for the group.
"Because leadership rolls over each year we want the vision statement to be self-expressing with the club's attitude," George said.
Finalizing this year's mission statement is just one part of constructing the foundation for the Alliance Forum. Elections, training, mock meetings and arranging for resources within the administration are the main goals for the fall semester. Beginning January, the Alliance Forum will take cases and put their skills to work, proving that even a passion for justice and advocacy needs a process.