The director of relations for Iowa State’s Black Student Alliance said Thursday that university officials should drop misconduct charges against student organizers of a Nov. 5 protest.

Jamal White, a sophomore from Washington in pre-metallurgical engineering, made his remarks during a diversity forum at the Maintenance Shop. Several students, including prominent campus minority leaders, are charged with violating student conduct codes in connection with an unauthorized protest in Beadshear Hall.

If convicted, some of those charged could be forced from their student positions.

The forum was held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. The panel consisted of four student leaders and three faculty members. Terri Houston, assistant dean of students, moderated the forum. Nearly 90 people attended.

White, a panel member, said the university should implement study programs for more student ethnic groups. He also said President Martin Jischke should go along with the September 29th Movement members’ request for a moderated meeting between Jischke and the group.

Dean of Students Kathleen MacKay, another panel member, said she felt Iowa State administrators have been open to diversity communication.

“With the exception of the moderator issue,” MacKay said, “I think I can point to a lot of meetings where he [Jischke] has been open to discussions with student groups.”

Houston quoted another King, Rodney King, when she asked panel members, “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Reis Pearson, student services coordinator for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Alliance and a panel member, said it’s not human nature to get along.

“We can’t rely on people to seek out knowledge of different groups,” she said, adding that people must learn to accept each other despite their differences.

MacKay said the Ames and Iowa State communities need to be more committed to promoting diversity.

Theresa Thomas, president of the Asian-American Pacific-American Coalition, felt otherwise. “The real problem does not lie on the Iowa State campus. The real problem lies in the decay of urban America.” Thomas was also on the panel.

Derrick Rollins, diversity adviser to Jischke’s cabinet and a member of the audience, asked panel members if they knew what it meant to “truly value someone.”

Rollins wasn’t initially satisfied with the responses. “If you’re walking down the street and someone you’re walking with said ‘nigger,’ what causes you to turn to your friend and say, ‘What you just said is wrong?'” he asked.

Thomas said people look too often look to leaders like King to lead them out of problems. “We’re always looking for a messiah to lead us out of danger. What I am trying to say is there is no messiah. People should take it upon themselves to advance ourselves and others.”