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Human Relations Commission still working on system

The Human Relations Commission has been established in Carbondale for more than a year and is still figuring out a way to work together with the Carbondale Conversations for Community Action to function as a benefit for the community.

The ordinance creating the Human Relations Commission, which was approved by the Carbondale City Council April 2003, allows the commission to study issues of relations and promote public understanding and also report to the City Council annually.

"The purpose of the commission is to develop and improve human relations among citizens within the city of Carbondale," said Sam Goldman, chairman of the HRC.

Although the HRC has not made any large developments in the last year, Councilwoman Corene McDaniel said that does not entirely mean that it is not working in the best interest for the community.

"Just because it's not visible doesn't mean it's not serving a purpose," McDaniel said.

The commission has designed study circles called Carbondale Conversations for Community Action that are made up of community members and SIUC students who talk about issues facing the community.

Goldman said the circles have come up with many ideas, and the question now is what to do with them.

"We will find ways to try to implement what it is they are proposing," Goldman said.

Undergraduate Student Government President Tequia Hicks, who is also an HRC member, said she agrees with Goldman that having a student on the commission is important.

"We're very interested in involving and working with the University to try to deal with some of the issues and things like that," Goldman said.

The Swimming Pool Action Group was formed from one of the study circles.

"The biggest thing we've taken in is the study circles, and we came up with different missions we are going to undertake, including the pool," Hicks said.

Hicks said while the biggest thing to come up is the pool study, there are many different conversation circles that are formulating ideas in different subjects.

"They're the most prominent committee at the moment because they've been very active, and I think they're dealing with an issue that is really important... the swimming pool. I don't mind the media covering it, but there are others that are doing some good stuff," Goldman said.

The discussion groups concentrate on a multitude of areas like student and community member relations, neighborhood improvement and housing.

"It was more just to get the community talking, mix them up, because a lot of the time people don't get to speak with each other from across town," Hicks said.

Hicks said the groups all have a common mission, but they all look into improvement in different ways to get things done for the "people relations."

"The Human Relations Commission is very supportive of all of these things and is willing to serve with these committees to bring them before the community and try to get them done," Goldman said.

According to Goldman, the swimming pool action group is one of the Carbondale Conversations for Community Action groups that is very spirited. The group has been looking into the possibility of creating an outdoor public pool to help people of the community.

"They are one of the more active committees, and I applaud them for that," Goldman said.

Goldman said once study circles present ideas to the Human Relations Commission, it would become one of the priorities for the commission.

The Human Relations Commission will be meeting July 12 to discuss the study circles and what its intentions are for the community to help develop ways of creating those changes.

"I promised all of these committees as chair of the commission that what they do will become our agenda," Goldman said.

The meeting on July 12 is the second time the commission will be meeting to deal with the suggestions from the study groups.

According to Goldman, the Human Relations Commission works very closely with the city as well. The commission, according to Goldman, is connected to the City Council, and any action it proposes goes from the mayor to the City Council.

"I, as chairman of the group, meet with the mayor and the city manager fairly often," Goldman said. "I am in city hall quite a bit, and two representatives from the city come to our meetings."