In spite of strides made in raising tolerance, achieving a completely friendly campus climate must still overcome hurdles.

Campus climate refers to what students experience on campus, said Carol Thompson, associate dean of students.

In February, administrators met with students, faculty and staff to determine what campus issues effected students the most and brainstorm ways the climate could be improved.

At the Campus Climate Assessment Discussion organized by the Dean of Students office, some students said they faced a hostile campus environment while others felt faculty and administrators were inaccessible and unresponsive to their concerns, said Melissa Vito, dean of students.

Thompson said the administration compiled a phone survey asking questions about the issues brought up in the February meeting. In April, approximately 500 students participated in helping the administration understand what students experience on campus.

Once the results are tallied, Thompson said the administration will form focus groups based on major issues to help improve the campus climate.

But some groups took matters into their own hands and organized forums and activities to promote discussion about race and integration.

Forums were sponsored by residence halls, fraternities, sororities and Sankofa, an African American resource group for University of Arizona staff and appointed personnel.

Although these activities and forums helped promote dialogue among its participants, T¢mas Martinez, president of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, said there is still a problem in getting a diverse population of students to attend.

Vito said, "I believe students respond to each other. I can provoke discussion and coordinate committees to review issues, but ultimately it will be the educated student leaders who can help bring groups together."

However, Jesse Hargrove, assistant dean of African American student affairs, said he applauded groups that organized forums to discuss racial climate, prejudice and discrimination.

Members of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and the African American Student Alliance united last month to destroy T-shirts that depicted a black man and bikini-clad woman as a "pimp" and "hooker."

Hargrove said he thought the T-shirt ripping ceremony served as a starting point to bridge the racial gap on campus and he was pleased the campus "ended up on an amicable note of campus climate unity."

Hargrove said, "The comraderie and relationships have made a difference to improve campus climate."

"The bonds created that day are another step that both sides were very happy with," said Troy Zien, president of Zeta Beta Tau. "It's a difficult situation for minorities because such a large percentage of the campus is white. The organizations are primarily white and run by whites."

G. Bruce Meyers, assistant dean of Native American student affairs, said his center performed its own survey for Native American students. Of the 450 people surveyed, 87 responded.

Meyers said perhaps the reason so few students responded to the survey was because "Native American students have been traditionally marginalized and just aren't used to being polled and can't believe someone actually asked their opinion."

Meyers said he plans to make public the results of this survey, "Campus Climate: The Native American Perspective."

Twelve students reported they were the target of racism, while 27 students said they had witnessed racist behavior on campus, the report revealed.

As results are published and Native Americans realize their recommendations are taken into consideration, more Native American students may participate in polls, Meyers said.

"Racial stereotypes and prejudices are still alive and exist among students, staff and faculty," he said, citing a common misconception that Native Americans attend the university for free.

Cecilia Lou, assistant dean of Asian Pacific American student affairs, said, "The difficulty with racism and discrimination is the general lack of understanding of people. This leads to uncomfortable tensions on campus that don't need to be there."

Lou said the Asian Pacific American Cultural Resource Center has been building bridges and partnerships with campus services for the past two years.

Thompson said, "The cultural centers play a valuable role in helping students find a sense of belonging, to get an anchor in the institution."

But Thompson said she encourages students to become more involved in the fuller part of campus. The administrative survey conducted will help with ideas on how to get more people involved, she said.

Hargrove said he is optimistic that the climate will improve because of the great leadership in campus diversity.

"The leadership in the clubs and organizations, fraternities, sororities and residence halls have been very conducive to creating a better campus climate," Hargrove said.

Last month, members from the African American Student Alliance, MEChA, Asian American Cultural Association and Filipino American Student Association met for a picnic.

Before the picnic, Dennis Narciso, FASA co-president, said the groups acknowledged each other but only interacted loosely.

"It served as a gateway for everything to happen in the future and fosters more understanding," Narciso said.

Philip Lim, AACA president, said multicultural picnics and racial forums are "a stepping stone toward creating equality."

Martinez said the groups' discussion was particularly helpful because they focused on similarites rather than differences.