LOCAL FORUM EXPLORES HUMAN RELATIONS PANEL

The topic at Thursday night's community forum was whether Cape Girardeau needs a human rights commission. No one who spoke questioned the need, but a number of people in the audience insisted any such commission must be autonomous.

"I don't want the city appointing them," Albert Bell said, speaking of the commission membership.

About 25 people attended the forum at the Salvation Army building. It was sponsored by the Multi-Cultural Committee of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

On the panel were Dr. Dan Steska, superintendent of Cape Girardeau public schools; City Attorney Eric Cunningham; the Rev. Joann McCauley, pastor of the House of Prayer; Dr. Jim Lacour, assistant to the president for equity issues at Southeast Missouri State University; and Commissioner Lawrence George of the state Human Rights Commission. The panel was moderated by Dr. Kimberly Barrett, interim equal opportunity-affirmative action officer at Southeast.

Since 1964, state law has barred communities from forming human rights commissions that operate in any other than an advisory capacity. Acting on complaints is reserved for the state Human Rights Commission and the courts.

George, who also is the affirmative action officer at the University of Missouri-Rolla, said members of minorities had to modify their behavior to fit in when he first moved to Rolla in 1960. His job now, he said, is to make people feel comfortable without having to make modifications in their behavior.

Members of the majority must do their part as well, he said.

"Non-minorities have to be willing to say there is a problem."

Lacour's charge when he was hired was to bring in more minority faculty, students and staff. He signs off on every hire the university makes.

"As we make the university community more accessible, more inviting, we make the Cape community more accessible, more inviting," he said.

An advisory committee the government has to listen to could have advantages, Lacour said. Others had concerns. Dr. Deanna Corbett talked about being refused service by a server at a Cape Girardeau restaurant her first night in town. She took the issue up with the company that owns the restaurant. "I'm from New York, I know what to do," she said.

Corbett teaches a class in the department of human environmental studies at Southeast and works for Procter & Gamble.

But she questioned whether a 15-year-old African American youth with a complaint would feel comfortable reporting it to the city council.

"The folks that need this advisory board, they're not going to come in here," said audience member Mary Lou Mohammed.

Pointing out that he has only nine or 10 months of living in the community to base his views on, Steska said some people have given him the impression that they don't feel comfortable approaching the school administration with problems.

An ad hoc committee with no connection to the city government is another possibility, the city attorney said.

George said an ad hoc committee brought human rights problems to the city government in Rolla. A human rights commission was appointed that helped change the city's culture, he said, but was disbanded in 1986 "because we have learned to address the issues effectively."

Audience member Matt Martin said he won't return to Southeast as a student because be encountered obscene material in texts and jokes about Christianity he felt discriminated against Christians. Both Lacour and Barrett offered to talk to him after the forum about specific incidents.