By CHRISTINE HOPKINS
Staff Writer
 

Professor Billie Dzeich's speech on consensual relationships and harassment launched the Affirmative Action Office's first brown-bag lunch discussion of the school year. Many students, especially first-years, were unaware of Dzeich's speech and these forums for dialogue on all concerns about Bates because notices were not distributed to student mailboxes.

Director of Affirmative Action Joanna Lee explained that the lunch discussions are not "an affirmative action workshop" in that the topics are not limited to race and gender.

Lee said,"even the construction waking people up and making it hard to work" would be fair game. In the past, both students, faculty, and outside guests have lead sessions on such topics as heritage and class.

The highlight of one discussion, according to Lee, was finding out that, "Jeff Peltier, now the supervisor of custodians, was a flautist taking lesson from a famous New York musician." The realization made participants think about how they categorized and treated custodial staff.

The first session of the year will be held October 21. Joanna Lee said that "we can't get all students to take sessions on gender and cultural diversity because that is not mandated by law."

The key to overcoming these problems seems to be in keeping conversations personal and real. While in college, Joanna Lee protested the use of Ralph Ellison's work"Invisible Man" to generate discussion about race.

"When they changed the book to Maya Angelou's `I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,' there was much more discussion on women and many topics," she said.

Lee said she hopes to keep such discussions alive at Bates because "if you don't talk about [hard topics], they fester."

In these manners, the Affirmative Action Office begins the new year with the goals of generating participation, listening, and garnering respect with regard to issues concerning Bates.

The next lunch discussion is scheduled for Wed., Nov. 19, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone interested in leading the discussion and choosing a topic should call Lee in the Affirmative Action office.