Oregon daily emerald., July 27, 2000, Page 4, Image 4

There’s help.
The right start in the real world
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Multicultural
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said. “I think something should
have happened by now. There are
not many faces of color here and
that is a large concern for me.” .
As a child attending school in
Bandon, Fuller-Shindler, whose eth
nic origins include African-Ameri
can, Native American, German and
English, recalls being the only per
son of color in her classes up until
the fourth grade and was consistent
ly referred to as “the ugly nigger.”
“Discrimination set the prece
dent for where my mind would
be,” she said. “It becomes your life.
When you are different it is some
thing that you are constantly trying
to manage in terms of ‘How do I
negotiate who I am in an environ
ment that is not like me?’”
When tackling issues of racism,
she believes it is essential to “admit
first that we are in America and
racism does exist. America has is
sues and racism is one of them.”
Fuller-Shindler wants to step in
and help change that perception,
specifically in terms of recruitment
and retention issues at the Univer
sity, which she says are recurring
concerns among individuals she
has communicated with. She be
lieves that on a national basis,
there are plenty of resources avail
able to access and implement in
order to help with retention statis
tics at the local level.
“There are a lot of gestures, and a
lot of things appear to be open,” she
said. But “what actually occurs,
happens and exists are different. [It
is a case of] reality versus illusion.”
A 1993 graduate of Mills College
in Oakland, Calif., with a major in
communications and a minor in
ethnic studies, Fuller-Shindler
earned a master’s degree in Africana
studies at Cornell University in
Ithaca, N.Y. in 1995. Most recently
she has been working toward a doc
torate in anthropology at the Uni
versity of Florida in Gainesville.
For the past three years, she has
served as program coordinator at
the UF Dean of Students Office
with duties ranging from organiz
ing assemblies, coordinating mul
ticultural retreats and a Women of
Color Conference.
“She had an enormous amount
of energy and rapport with individ
ual students,” UF’s Associate Dean
of Students Michael Rollo said, cit
ing her major strength as “the abili
ty to connect with students and
help them reach their goals.
“She helped students to maxi
mize what they wanted to do on a
jnulticultural perspective.”
She is also no stranger to interim
positions. She served as UF’s inter
im director for the Institute of
Black Culture and interim director
of the Institute of Hispanic/Latino
Cultures, as well as serving as an
adviser to the Native American
Student Association and the Asian
Student Union.
“She is well-spoken, energetic
and ready to work with students,”
said ASUO President Jay Breslow,
who participated in the selection
committee. “We’re excited about
having her/’
Breslow, who has previously
worked in the MCC and said he
“holds it dear to his heart,” hopes to
combine forces with Fuller-Shindler
throughout the coming year.
“Consolidating networks, get
ting things done and setting simi
lar goals,” he said. “Hopefully we
can set a theme for the year and
work together on it.”
Fuller-Shindler has a broad spec
trum of experience, both personal
and professional, to draw from.
“I have had an opportunity to
get around the university systems
and gather insight in terms of how
things can work and what things
don’t work,” she said. “And my re
search background will be helpful
to determine the environment here
on campus.”
She hopes to meld these two ar
eas of experience, using one to as
sess the other and vice versa. But
her primary concern is the students.
“I want to hear firsthand from
the students what their wants and
needs are,” she said.
She looks forward to identifying
“Who’s got a lot to say and who is
doing something.”
For starters, she hopes to serve
as a link “to the network of stu
dents and people ready, willing
and able to make a real difference
as opposed to talking about it. Talk
is good for brainstorming, evaluat
ing issues and goals, and making
plans. [Talk is] good as long as it
leads to action.
“I am an action person — in my
family you don’t talk about it, you
do it.”
While she settles into her new
position, her first tasks are organiz
ing the space in the MCC, planning
a staff retreat to define issues and
goals and meeting people to deter
mine “who the players are, who
my peers are, develop allies and re
lationships to realize the full po
tential of the MCC. I just hope we
have the resources to make it be
come what it can become.”
Fuller-Shindler believes that
student power on this campus is
phenomenal and commendable
and hopes to provide support, di
rection and consistency.
“I am here as a counselor and
mentor hoping to continue the
process of leadership develop
ment.”
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