Claire Montgomery
Senior News Writer
On Thursday, Sept. 13, Campus Council unanimously approved the creation of the Galpin Call-in Committee. The new committee will “ensure that the demands from the Call-in are approved” while also making sure that the students who felt that they were not represented at the original Call-in have their voices heard, according to the Campus Council minutes.
The Galpin Call-in took place on Jan. 24, 2018 and was organized in response to what was seen as a lack of attention from administration regarding student concerns in several areas including racial inequality, Title IX policy and the treatment of international and low-income students. Leaders of the Call-in included executives from the Black Student Association (BSA), k(no)w, the First Generation Students Organization (FGSO), Women of Images and Asia Supporters in Action (ASiA).
Robert Dinkins, Jr. ’19, an organizer of the Call-in, said, “The Galpin Call-in was the result of a group of students who saw a need for their voices to be heard. It was a tremendous start, but there is still a lot more work to be done. All of the demands were geared towards bringing more equality and inclusion to the campus community.”
The new committee created in response to the Call-in will be composed of five student members from Campus Council and the Student Government Association (SGA) alongside Shadra Smith, associate dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Robin Perry ’20, an SGA Senator and member of the new committee said, “The committee was formed to have the students have representatives who would check on the progress of the agreed upon Galpin Call-in demands. It also acts as a space where we can bring in new issues that weren’t touched upon, give student feedback on developments and be able to get updated on the projects so that we can inform the student body about said progress.”
Stachal Harris ’21, another member of the Galpin Call-in Committee as well as a Campus Council member, also commented on the purpose of the new committee. “The committee was formed to not only have accountability, but [also to be] a main route of communication with the student body that is comprehensive. Also, it goes beyond the demands that were already agreed upon and opens up a forum for students who felt their voices were not completely heard in the Galpin Call-in to give input now.”
“My main goal[s] on this new committee [are] transparency and clarity,” Harris added. “Often times students receive long and difficult emails that have important information buried within. I hope to create a better method [of] disseminating updates and important information to the student body.”
Perry also commented on some of the goals of the committee. “Currently we are working on bringing in some unheard voices [from] the original Call-in. I brought forward the list of demands that the campus LGBT+ community published post Call-in and [myself] and Olivia [Proe ’21] will be meeting with Chaplain Alex [Serna-Wallender] to get some input on what we could do for the students of faith on campus.”
When asked what his thoughts were on the formation of the Galpin Call-in Committee, Dinkins was optimistic. “I am glad the committee has been approved. I am looking forward to seeing the progress we can make towards ensuring the agreed upon ideas are met. This committee is also taking a look at some concerns presented by the LGBTQIA+ community and will go about doing the very best at easing some of those concerns. The Religious & Spiritual Life community has also voiced some concerns. This committee will be responsible for making sure their voices are heard.”