Despite a small number of students in attendance at last week’s climate study discussion forums, students have the opportunity to discuss the results until Dec. 2.
“We will continue to invite comments from the university community and in particular from Marquette’s student communities,” said William Welburn, chair of the Climate Study Working Group and associate provost for diversity and inclusion in the office of the provost, in an email.
Welburn said the climate study website provides a form for individual submissions and the Climate Study Working Group will be available to facilitate discussions through Dec. 2 if groups of students are interested in having a forum.
In addition, Welburn said the Climate Study Working Group has had good responses to focused forums for student sub-communities. Welburn said the group received support from Latino students, Native American students and LGBT students. A group of more than 60 African-American students attended a session to review the survey results and suggest action steps.
“This has been an opportunity for all students, and some students have felt the urgency to join discussions,” Welburn said. “We wanted to provide that opportunity.”
The forum sessions held last week gave faculty, students and staff the opportunity to gather and discuss the climate study results. Approximately seven students were in attendance over the two forums. Welburn said the forum was a chance to get ideas from the Marquette community who read the results and wanted to contribute to the discussion.
“I think that we had a pretty good response from those students who had the greatest concerns about improving the environment based on survey results,” Welburn said.
Maggie Stang, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she participated in one of the forums last week because she wanted to learn more about the steps that will be taken now that the survey results have been released.
“I think the climate study team is doing a good job of reaching out to all sorts of groups,” Stang said in an email. “That was one of the questions they were asked at the forum, and they talked about the plans they had to speak to all sorts of groups. I was pleased with that.”
Members of the Marquette community had the opportunity to take the climate study survey in February. According to the executive summary of the results, 4,293 surveys were completed for an overall response rate of 31 percent. Undergraduate students completed 2,491 surveys. Graduate students, Marquette staff and faculty completed the other 1,802 surveys.
“I am pleased that we had a good response to the survey last February, good by (climate study consultant) Dr. Rankin’s standards,” Welburn said. “Better than many institutions. As I have heard our president say, we have baseline data to improve the climate at Marquette if we commit ourselves to doing so.”
Elise Jaffee, a sophomore in the College of Communication, did not take the climate study survey. Jaffee said she has not participated in any forums or discussion because she did not take the survey.
“I honestly don’t really remember why (I didn’t take the climate study), but I must have just not wanted to take the time to do it,” she said.
Jaffee said she is a member of women’s club basketball and the Jewish Student Union on campus, where she said she has the opportunity to try to improve what happens on campus.
Stang said she took the climate study survey because she wanted to contribute to an accurate portrayal of campus.
“An accurate depiction includes all different voices and perspectives,” she said.
