As president of the Clarksville chapter of the Commission On Religion and Racism, (CORR) I am concerned by some of the rumors and misinformation that have circulated regarding the recent protests and demonstrations at Austin Peay State University. First of all, several African-American faculty, staff and students have approached CORR about what we consider to be racial insensitivity on the campus. Therefore, we must respond to complaints from our community.

I believe that it has been a concerted effort on the part of the APSU administration to minimize the number of people who have vocalized opposition against President Sherry Hoppe. Most black people on the campus are afraid to publicly challenge what we believe are racist practices of APSU. Fortunately, we have a few brave souls like Nancy Dawson, APSU director of African-American Studies who is standing strong under immense administrative pressures.

In order to set the record straight, it is important for the community to know that there were two entirely different protests at APSU. The demonstration on Nov. 10 was organized by CORR and the march on Nov. 16 was organized by APSU students.

The CORR demonstration was primarily community members, and the casket that was used in the demonstration was symbolic of the number of African-American faculty and staff who have lost their livelihoods because of Hoppe's policies and practices. The noose used in the protest symbolized the type of racism that we believe exists on that campus. It seems strange to me that the APSU and Clarksville community can respond to our "demonstration," but cannot respond to the actual noose or the African-American voices of discontent on that campus.

Hoppe refuses to admit that racial problems exists at APSU, instead she uses distorted figures to hide, suppress and oppress individuals who question her policies and practices. For example, Hoppe says there are 20 African-American faculty on the campus, but that is a small number in comparison to the overall total number of faculty. How many of those 20 faculty members are tenured? Many departments on campus have no African-American faculty. On the average, how many years does an African-American faculty member stay at APSU? The retention of African-American faculty is crucial to the retention of African-American students. That's why they are marching to save one of the professors that they identify with.

If Hoppe is committed to the African-American Studies program, why hasn't she publicly announced who will serve as interim director? Since Hoppe started her tenure at APSU, this position has been the subject of controversy. First, the position was frozen. Then, the newly appointed director was moved to the history department. Then, courses with the AAST prefix were not accepted for the African-American Studies minor. Now, the director is terminated. Clarksville community — there is something wrong with this picture.

There were more than 50 students at the protest on Nov. 16, and those students walked hand-in-hand, like in the days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., singing some African-American protest songs. They went from building to building, singing to demonstrate their discontent. Would all of this happen if something was not wrong at APSU?

CORR has now joined forces with the National Action Network, and we will not stop until something is done to bring peace and harmony to African-Americans on that campus. We are asking Dr. Hoppe to come to the table and resolve these issues are the protests will continue. However, she refuses to respond to our phone calls.

Lastly, we are also beginning to question the Tennessee Board of Regents why has there been so much scrutiny of the African American presidents in the TBR system and not of Hoppe. After all, progress in affirmative action is a factor to be considered in reviewing institutional presidents.

Virginia Hatcheris president of Clarksville CORR.