It was standing room only as faculty, staff, students and alumni spilled out of BioSciences West, Room 208, and into the hallway to voice concerns and comments about the administration's diversity plans not being articulated clearly enough.

President Pete Likins released yesterday a memo dubbed the Diversity Action Plan, which listed short and long-term steps that administrators hope will recruit and retain diverse faculty, staff and students, ensure academic fairness, and incorporate diversity into campus activities.

The crowd asked administrators for specifics about the plan, but administrators didn't give details about how the UA would be made more diverse, or what "diversity" means.

In order to accommodate the large numbers of attendees, Likins and Davis gave their chairs to faculty members and took a seat on the floor while a 20-minute promotional video presentation on diversity played.

"It's good to see so many people in this room and so many people trying to get into this room. It shows we need to have an ongoing discussion," Likins said.

The problem with the diversity discussion is that it separates people from diversity, said Glenda Roark, disability specialist, after quoting a passage from the action plan that uses the phrase "different from us."

"When I'm in this country, the approach of diversity is that you are diverse from me. That's the mistake from the get-go," she said. Many around the room cheered in agreement.

But the idea is that everyone is different from each other and everyone must be sensitive to people as individuals, Likins responded.

Roark was not the only employee with concerns about the specifics of the action plan. Although the room was hot and overcrowded, most people stayed for an hour and a half in order to express their concerns.

Director of Campus Recreation Juliette Moore wanted to hear administrators narrow their definition of "diversity."

"Everyone has a different definition of Îdiversity,'" she said.

However, administrators said that they could not pin down a concrete definition.

"We're not narrowing, confining ourselves to racial differences," Likins said. "It is the sensitivity to differences, so now one feels insulted."

Administrators have given examples of diversity in gender, sexual orientation, race, disability and anything that differentiates people from one another.

Fenton Johnson, a creative writing professor, wondered how administrators would ensure that there are improvements in diversity.

"My experience here has shown that what is on paper is wonderful · (but) anytime there's a controversy or difference, the university is nowhere to be found," he said.

Accountability will be in every manager's job, said Patti Ota, vice president of executive affairs, though administrators didn't give many specifics.

The Diversity Coalition, a group of employees with representatives from various minority groups on campus that drafted the plan, will continue its role in advising and implementing the action steps, Ota added.

"I don't think any of us who spent time working on (the plan) don't want to see it happen," she said.

She pointed to a user-friendly database that administrators are hoping to establish in order to monitor those who are responsible for completing the action steps. Anyone interested could go to the database and see the latest changes made to increase diversity.

Dean of Humanities Chuck Tatum said that the committee in charge of recruiting candidates has already successfully recruited a number of minority and female applicants.

"There's no difference between policy and practice," he said.

One woman asked whether there would be a plan to train administrators in increasing diversity.

The suggestion generated unsatisfied grumbles throughout the room.

"I think the training opportunity needs to be available, but I don't have much faith in training. I think accountability is the key word here," Tatum said. "Training won't change behavior. Accountability will change behavior."

Audience members applauded him and murmurs of affirmation filled the room.

Looking beyond faculty to students, student government senator Victoria Ruan asked how administrators would reach out to students in order to emphasize the importance of sharing their cultures.

Ota said she has already met with student leaders in the Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs and Asian-Pacific American groups and had conversations with the African-American group to begin a dialogue.

"It's not just minority students that need to hear from us. We need to speak to fraternity guys and sorority girls," Likins said. "There are people who create an island around themselves and live in their own world."

Another question posed to Likins, Ota and Davis was where the funds for the diversity action plan would come from as the university faces Hull's call for a $17 million cut.

"There are costly objectives and there is an understanding that millions of dollars must be invested to make this university a better place," Likins said. "There's a sense of frustration. We're struggling with these questions."

Ota has already received more than $177,000 to fund the diversity action steps.