By Erin Miller

Editor in chief

Following Monday's faculty senate meeting, Calvin professors were invited to attend a meeting to discuss a proposed addendum to the college's expanded mission statement explaining the college's policy regarding anti-racism.

At the meeting, Provost Joel Carpenter gave a brief history of the discussion leading up to the addendum. Following that history, the floor was opened for questions from the faculty members present.

The addendum was written by the Planning and Priorities Committee following a request by the Multicultural Affairs Committee for a deeper look into potential problems within Calvin's mission statement, comprehensive plan and core curriculum. Three task forces were formed, each working on a specific document.

Basically, Carpenter said, the committees were asking ``in what ways do these address and not address race at Calvin College?

``They saw a couple of problems,'' he added. ``One, the vision talks about multi-culturalism, not racism, and, two, [the mission statement] can seem excluding for people not reared in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), the way it uses personal possessive pronouns. Sometimes it is Calvin College, sometimes it's talking about the broad church of Jesus Christ, sometimes the Christian Reformed Church. We need to be clear.''

In order to create that clarity, the Planning and Priorities Committee re-phrased many of the personal pronouns used in the body of the mission statement in order to clarify meaning. In places in which the meaning was self-evident, no changes were made.

The committee then drafted a six-and-a-half page addendum devoted to the concept of anti-racism, which they propose be added to the mission statement. Many professors have voiced their concerns with this addendum.

The biggest concern is that, in focusing only on racism and anti-racism, the addendum will either take focus away from other social justice issues such as gender equity and poverty, or will create a precedent for including more single-focus addendums to the statement.

``The addendum does end with a promissory note,'' Carpenter said. ``That's really why the drafting group did not attempt a full rewrite.''

He added that while racism is not the only social justice issue currently being discussed at Calvin, it is an issue that deserves the college's full attention.

Some professors suggested that the addendum was important, and that it might fit better with the college's comprehensive plan.

Carpenter also addressed a question regarding the origin of the college's focus on anti-racism in particular, compared with the many other possible angles from which Calvin could have approached racism. The approach was dictated by the approach of the CRC in general.

``[The church said], `We want to work with a more complete definition of racism,''' he said. ``A key to it is an analysis of power. That's the model the denomination chose.''

Within the past several years, the CRC has implemented a training and orientation process through which pastors and church members have learned the causes and roots of racism through seminars led by Crossroads Ministry, a Chicago-based organization.

Of particular controversial has been the definition of racism, a definition that excludes anyone who is oppressed for racial reasons from being able to oppress others based on racial biases. That definition has caused controversy at both the college and the seminary.

The debate over the addendum is far from over. The committee that drafted it will be meeting again next week, and it will be brought before the faculty senate in December.