With PAR, a white student and an AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American) student will pair up with the sole purpose to talking about racism.

``Questions like `Why do black people need Black Entertainment Television' could come up. People will just get a better understanding.'' Rhodes said.

Twelve students have been selected thus far, six whites and six minority students, and will begin meeting next semester. ``I picked people across the board, from freshmen to seniors.'' Rhodes said. ``All 12 students will meet with Christy and myself so we can first introduce the program.

``Then, for the next few weeks the partnerships will meet twice a week to discuss one on one,'' she added.

Meanwhile, Carlin and Rhodes both plan on praying for the partnerships and contacting them periodically to share in their growth and record their progress as well as handling any difficulties that may arise. ``We'll meet at the end of the allotted time to critique the experience,'' Rhodes said.

``Since this is the pilot group, we are going to rely heavily on our participants to gauge if this is a beneficial experience and how we can alter it to make it better for future partnerships,'' Carlin said.

Two of the students participating in next semester's program have already met. Khalia Daniels is a freshman at Calvin and, as an African-American, is representing the minority position while Jill Ter Molen is Caucasian and is the Finance Chair in Student Senate.

Daniels had been contacted by Rhodes via e-mail telling her what PAR was and asking her to participate.

Daniels had no previous knowledge of PAR but liked the idea immediately. ``I think there's a lot of viewpoints I myself need to understand about other people. We break down underlying racism by talking about it,'' Daniels said.

Ter Molen heard about it when Carlin came to Student Senate and asked for volunteers. Ter Molen thought it was a good idea.

``There isn't much open dialogue,'' she said. ``It's always heated. Too many individuals in the crowd don't get to give their input. This is an individual thing. I like being able to express myself knowing that she's going to listen. We can learn from each other.''

``It's not going to be easy for people to hear they're wrong. It's always hard to accept criticism,'' Carlin said. ``The way that we become responsible, active agenst is by identifying and understanding what institutional racism is and how we are conditioned to accept it and act along with it. I want it to be very clear that I intend on both partners learning and growing. This is not an attempt to point fingers at all non-black people and say `look at how you are a racist.'''

``It's hard to say what you're really thinking. You're facing judgment and thinking `what are they going to think'!'' Ter Molen said. ``But to get anywhere you have to be open.''

``Sometimes I don't understand why people are still biased towards each other. But then I realize I have my own skeletons in the closet.'' Daniels said.

Many students at Calvin are tired of hearing about racism and feel it isn't an issue anymore. Carlin and Rhodes said that they cannot express enough how much it is a current issue in the United States and at Calvin.

``I have met some resistance from students who say that they are tired of hearing about racism,'' Carlin said. ``There are people on Calvin's campus who don't believe that they can do anything that will foster change, nor do they see themselves as responsible agents of change in our community. I think it is because they don't quite grasp just how covertly racism works, even in their own personal lives. That is one reason why I am so passionate about this.''

Daniels echoed some similar thoughts. ``It's no longer with white pointed hats, but racism is evident in so many underlying ways. It's just as bad to sit there and not say anything as the person making prejudiced comments,'' she said.

Carlin said the problem at Calvin is that it's ``very easy if you're white to ignore the fact that there are minorities here. It's easy to have no interaction and many have no contact with minority students,'' she said. This is a problem because ``college forms your worldview. If you have no diversity within your school system, it's bound to be cut out of your lifestyle.

``I think that white people must open their ears and listen and that people of color must do the same so that we can create a united front, where we can make our communities a place where the voices of all people can be heard. As a white female, I don't have to value diversity to succeed in society. But the minority students do,'' she added.

``How do I, as a white female, let minorities know that there are opportunities open to them?'' Ter Molen said.

``If I'm going to be anti-racist, I can't buy into the little things. I'm against language that symbolizes oppression. Using phrases like `ghetto Meijer' is buying into the little things. It's supporting stereotypes. We don't realize how labels influence people.

``My goal is that people will be able to join hands and take a stand together to become Anti-Racist and break down the walls of silence that serve as the barriers which cause humans to turn their backs on discussions about racism in their individual lives and communities.'' Carlin said.

``It must be emphasized that PAR is only a beginning. It is not a solution or catch-all. I am not expecting a person to leave PAR and say, `OK, I'm not a racist anymore,' and check that box off of their to-do list,'' Carlin said.

``I hope that this will only be a beginning, for both persons of color and white people to recognize new things about one another and come together to take a stand against racism.''