Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senators plan to introduce a resolution at Tuesday's meeting to create a diversity committee to implement the body's 15 diversity recommendations.

Senators scheduled a discussion on the legislation for last Tuesday, but the meeting was canceled because of inclement weather.

The Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Diversity existed two years ago, but the resolution would bring the committee back permanently, South Halls Sen. Ace Ekhtiarzadeh said.

Although the Senate has not yet put into effect any of the recommendations, Ekhtiarzadeh said he has seen substantial progress.

"Most of the things have been channeled to the people who would be responsible for them," Ekhtiarzadeh said.

"We set them in motion in terms of where they need to be so that they can be part of the Penn State experience in the future."

Ekhtiarzadeh said many of the recommendations are long-term goals and would not be implemented this year.

"I think that the resolutions are really important to student life, and by passing an initiative like that earlier in the year, we would set a committee to making those changes to better student life," Ekhtiarzadeh said.

"We don't want to let it die in the next congress," he added.

Ekhtiarzadeh said a program to present all incoming freshmen with a diversity book is one of many recommendations underway.

He said incoming freshmen would be encouraged to read the book and take part in a discussion.

Other programs nearing completion include a multicultural roundtable for administrators and students to discuss diversity issues once a month and a letter to encourage faculty members to incorporate out-of-classroom diversity activities into Intercultural and International Competence (GI) courses.

Monica Bhagat, USG multicultural affairs director, said her committee postponed the roundtable in November because she discovered it was similar to a discussion group held weekly by Black Caucus.

"I want my committee to work with other student leaders," Bhagat said.

"I really want to get a good feel of what works and what doesn't and see what students want and go forward with it. I don't want to waste anyone's time."

Black Caucus President Tiffanie Lewis said her organization holds the discussion group, Sankofa, every Wednesday to address issues concerning the black community.

Lewis said she would not be interested in combining Sankofa with another group to form a roundtable.

"[Sankofa] is very much sacred to the Black Caucus and the people who participate in it," Lewis said.

"I don't think it can be combined because it's not a simple discussion. We do a lot of fieldwork. There is a lot of action that comes from our group," she added.

Vice Provost for Educational Equity Terrell Jones said that he met with Ekhtiarzadeh to discuss the diversity recommendations USG made.

"Implementation is the real question," Jones said. "How quickly can some of those recommendations be implemented compared to others? Some will take more time."

Jones said he particularly liked the idea of encouraging incoming freshmen to read a book focusing on diversity issues before coming to Penn State.

"The fact that they are willing to take a look at these issues, take some ownership, is very positive."