Black Caucus members last night outlined a tentative list of requests the organization is making to university officials to help end racism on campus.

While Black Caucus Vice President Gandarvaka Gray refused to comment on specifics of the requests, she said the group plans to ask the university to create a crisis response team to deal with racist actions. She added that the group wants an annual budget to fund Black Caucus events and discussions regarding racism on campus.

Gray said additional details would be released after the list was formally compiled and presented to administrators.

"We hope to personally meet with administrators as soon as possible," she said. "That's all I'm going to say for right now."

The requests were announced in front of a crowd of about 350 people who gathered in 100 Thomas Building for what turned into an emotional discussion about racism.

Black Caucus organized the event in response to an alleged verbal attack last Thursday on Black Caucus President Ed Smith, who said racist comments were directed at him as he was walking past Beaver Hall. Penn State University Police are still investigating the incident and will not confirm whether Smith was the target of the attack.

Smith said the forum was meant to send a bigger message to Penn State officials.

"This is not just about what happened Thursday night or about the one person who said those things," he said. "This is about the behavior that happens on campus all the time. The actions are pervasive, continual, and the university has inadequately responded to them."

Thomas Poole, assistant vice provost for educational equity, said after the event that it would take administrators several days to respond to the remarks made by students at the event.

Forum on Black Affairs President Ed Thompson said he thought the group's requests were reasonable, but members need to work toward achieving them in an orderly manner.

"I know that the students feel threatened by the things that are going on around them," he said. "But you can't just turn a switch and automatically expect all threats to end."

Afterward, Thompson said additional meetings would be needed to identify specific changes that could be made regarding Penn State's position on racism.

Penn State President Graham Spanier issued a statement yesterday that said Thursday's incident was "unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Penn State," Spanier said. "Student Affairs staff have conducted meetings in the residence hall to remind students of our core values and to seek student support in identifying the culprit."

Letrell Crittenden (graduate-media studies) said the creation of a diversity council consisting of members from various ethnic groups would help solve problems.

"Separated we don't have power, but in numbers they can't ignore us," he said. "Across all races and orientations, we can unite to end these horrible acts."

Denise Hinds-Zaami, a Penn State diversity advocate, said the university will respond most to statistics, and that anyone who is concerned about racism should speak up.

Police are also investigating a similar incident that took place last Wednesday outside Porter Hall. Anyone with more information can contact police at 863-1111 or http://www.psu.edu/dept/police.