The committment to address campus racism must become an internal priority of institutions, said Henry Johnson, vice president of student services at the University of Michigan Thursday.

Johnson, speaking at the “Racial Discrimination on Campus” conference, defined racism as a “disease” which people do not admit exists. He said racism is an environment in which “the dominant defines what is good, true or right to the determent of whichever other groups that are around.”

Johnson discussed some of the racial incidents that occured at U of M, and also presented some of the strategies which are being used to respond to them.

He said incidents began with racist jokes on the campus radio station and included anonymous fliers, graffiti and the defacing and destruction of two shanties representing apartheid. In addition, there were protests by the Black Student Association and intervention by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Johnson said.

“The incidents were forcing us to come to grips with the situation—we could not continue to do business as usual on campus,” Johnson said.

Johnson said U of M came to several agreements to respond to the racial incidents. One was to establish a position of vice president for minority affairs. Other methods were to provide an autonomous budget for the BSA, appoint a senior administrative officer for affirmative action and provide budgetary incentives for black faculty and staff.

The university also implemented annual performance reviews for the deans to assure affirmative action in their colleges and developed a president’s student advisory committee.

In response to Johnson’s speech, Jon Dalton, NIU vice president for student affairs, said, “Reactions can’t only dwell on the sickness or ignorance, but captivate the inclusion of students who set the moral agenda.”

Johnson said univerisites need to respond to racial omissions and slights that occur daily on university campuses.

NIU Affirmative Action Director Marilyn Monteiro, reacting to Johnson’s speech, said there are many instruments of oppression and repression on NIU’s campus. She cited a Jan. 26 Northern Star column which discussed remarks made by Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder and suggested that blacks should work hard to succeed.

Monteiro said the column contributed to the negative and conflicted environment on campus. “This is the kind of education white people are getting on university campuses,” Monteiro said. She said the column illustrated the “miseducation of whites” which results in the “miseducation of blacks.”