Racial tension resurfaced on campus this week, sparking a series of demonstrations which allowed many students to express their frustration and raise important concerns. Now it is time for the University community to come together and learn from people's anger and actions.

Racist flyers, addressing Undergraduate Student Government President Seth Williams but targeting and insulting the entire black community, were found on campus Monday -- flyers filled with derogatory and ignorant stereotypes. Early Sunday morning, five black women reported they were harassed by 10 white men yelling racial slurs.

Sadly, this is far from the first time black students have been intimidated at the University. More regrettably, these events are not unique to the underlying attitudes present even when relations seem calm.

Many students question the incidents and attitudes that fester here:

Why can't Williams act as a student leader without being condemned for the color of his skin?

What, especially in a college town, could provoke someone to live with the ignorance that would inspire writing and issuing such a flyer? Why can't black women walk down the street without fear?

Simultaneously, a counter-productive voice accuses these students of constantly making demands on the University administration and repeats a very worn and simple-minded phrase: "What more do blacks want?"

The answers to these questions are complicated, found in part in a history which runs deep. But, especially in a University community, people should meet the challenge of finding answers.

Those who question the black students' right to make demands on the administration -- as they did Tuesday night -- need to understand despite the lack of trust that surfaces between the two groups, administrative support is necessary. The administration holds the power at Penn State and, if prodded, can work effectively to implement programs.

When the students occupied the HUB Fishbowl Tuesday night, the administration responded swiftly, engaging in some dialogue and granting students' requests. This kind of cooperation can help if the administration follows through with its promises.

But the answers to Penn State's problems -- which mirror our times --will not be solved entirely through administrative and black student actions. Students, faculty and staff should refrain from making judgments. People need to begin listening.

In higher education, we are offered an opportunity to learn. Speakers, workshops, Black Studies classes and informal gatherings can sensitize people to the concerns of others. While these forums do not mend torn relations, they can help people cross a cultural barrier and empathize. They do not solve everything, but only through dialogue can people learn.

Critics of the black students often condemn without listening, without first attempting to understand.

Why, some may ask, should people bother? Why do we have to care about someone else's problems? If people can not learn to coexist peacefully -- peace meaning not only the absence of tension but also the presence of understanding and love -- in their own communities, then as Americans we will not move forward.

Suggesting that education alone would mend race relations is naive. But in striving for an understanding between people in this community, listening is the place to start.