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Mr. Pryor declared that it was critical for people in positions of authority and the general public to <br />communicate the lack of community tolerance for hate activities. He used the example of drunk driving to <br />illustrate an activity that was at one time somewhat tolerated; but, through a consistent and open campaign <br />was now regarded as unacceptable. He said that same level of commitment should be focused on hate <br />activities. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz said CCR identified several ideas for further consideration, including requiring City-funded <br />newsletters to insert articles on diversity. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy agreed there were different levels of response, but there should be an initial timely response that <br />did not need to have all aspects fully refined with follow-up responses providing more detailed plans to <br />address the incident. She emphasized the importance of immediately letting the community know that <br />elected officials and local government cared and were concerned. <br /> <br />Ms. Urbina said that while many residents were aware of the River Road incident, many others living in the <br />same area were not. She said it was important to be less reactionary and more proactive in educating people <br />about the problem and encouraging people to take positive steps to demonstrate lack of tolerance for that <br />behavior. <br /> <br />Mr. Garcia said he had taught Chicano studies for the past 15 years and found it necessary to incorporate in <br />the curriculum lessons about who Mexican-Americans and Latinos were. He felt cultural competency to <br />present an issue was an important consideration; the City could take the lead and be a good resource for <br />providing a competent perspective about issues of race and defining the language to be used. <br /> <br />Mr. Rikhoff asked if councilors were interested in being notified of counter actions such as leafleting or <br />vigils that occurred in the community or in their wards. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz stated she wanted to be notified of any counter actions so she had the opportunity to participate. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor observed that not everyone was at the same level with respect to understanding the nature, extent, <br />and severity of the problem; some segments of the community were acutely aware of hate and intolerance <br />and others had no idea what racism was or what it looked like. He said the City needed to do a better job of <br />educating the community about the characteristics and mechanisms of hate so that people could not be <br />ambiguous about its nature. He said that the culture would not change unless public awareness was raised <br />about hate activities and their impact. <br /> <br />Mr. Megowan said that significant educational work had been done with the study circles and that effort <br />should be continued and expanded. He said that many people underwent an important change in attitude as <br />a result of their participation in the study circles. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka said the notification process should not stop at initial notification; it should be used as a tool to <br />keep officials informed about community reaction and official responses in a series of notifications. <br /> <br />Mr. Van Steenbergen announced that the third round of study circles would begin later in January and many <br />of the facilitators were persons of color. He was pleased that City employees were encouraged to participate <br />in the study circles. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />