Over 2,000 people attended a virtual town hall hosted by Indiana University Tuesday to talk about ways to combat racial inequity on campus.
Multiple panelists called for mandatory implicit bias training for students, faculty, and staff as a way to hold people more accountable for racist actions.
James Wimbush is the vice president for diversity, equity, and multicultural affairs at IU and was a panelist on the call.
He says he wants to see people in the IU community sign a diversity pledge.
“If we have everyone sign a diversity pledge, what it would do is give us a bit to use in order to get rid of people who do not uphold our value,” he says.
Panelists also called for more courses that reflect the diversity at IU and a need for university leadership to demonstrate commitment to addressing racial inequity to achieve lasting change.
Sydney Rucker is director of diversity initiatives for faculty affairs, professional development and diversity at the IU School of Medicine.
She says she believes that if IU makes progress in ecouraging coversations about race, that progress will reflect in the larger Indiana community.
"It can't solely stop with education," Rucker says. "It means we have to look internally at the policies and accountability measures that impact and run our institutions."
