Although Black Caucus has yet to officially submit its ideas to improve the racial climate on campus to the administration, officials already say that some of the demands might not be feasible.

At a meeting Wednesday night, Black Caucus Vice President Gandarvaka Gray outlined several changes the group would like to see Penn State make to help end acts of racism on campus.

The requests include the creation of a University Police force specifically for race-related crimes, the attainment of an annual stipend for Black Caucus events and a change in the housing contract to prohibit acts of racism.

Thomas Poole, associate vice provost for educational equity, said the list presented at the meeting is not an official proposal, and he is waiting to receive the actual recommendations from Black Caucus.

"It seems to me the list that was presented Wednesday night is only a working list and not something that is ready to be presented to the administration," Poole said.

Gray said that since the Black Caucus is still working on the requests, they have not yet been submitted officially to any Penn State administrators.

She added that she was unsure when the list would be delivered.

The group is requesting an annual operating budget instead of going through the event-by-event request process required by the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC), Gray said.

UPAC Overall Chair Tom Truong said an annual budget for an organization would not be possible because the policies set for the organization by the Office of Student Affairs require UPAC to give out funds on an event-by-event basis.

He added that student groups can make one request each week.

All of the event requests Black Caucus has made have been met with UPAC funds, Truong said.

"They know how the process works and have been very successful at getting the money they want for their projects," he said. "The funding committee knows that they put on great programs to bring differing opinions to the table."

In addition to requesting annual funds, Black Caucus is asking for the creation of a special university police force to deal with racist crimes on campus, Gray said.

Penn State University Police Supervisor Bill Moerschbacher said the police have not received a formal request from the group, and declined to comment on the matter until he had seen one.

Black Caucus members are also asking that the university's housing contract include provisions for punishing students who commit acts of racism, Gray said.

Diane Andrews, director of residence life, said she met Monday night with a group of student leaders, including Black Caucus members, to discuss the issue.

"The issue of racism is covered in the current contract because any violation of the university code of conduct -- which can include racial harassment -- is subject to possible loss of housing," she said.

Andrews added that changes to the contract will be made if Residence Life thinks it is needed.

"We support what they are saying and we will make changes if necessary," she said.

Wednesday night's meeting was spawned by an alleged verbal assault that occurred Feb. 17 outside Beaver Hall.

Black Caucus President Ed Smith said someone was yelling racial slurs from a window as he was walking past the dorm.

Poole said Wednesday night's meeting, where students criticized administrators for what they called a "poor response" to the alleged acts, was necessary.

"People obviously have been experiencing a number of incidents over time that are troublesome and detrimental to living and learning," he said. "I look forward to continuing to work on these issues, so that we get to the point where we don't have to have town meetings."