ARCATA -- Humboldt State University revealed the draft of its Diversity Action Plan on Wednesday, and will be seeking comments for further consideration.

The plan, which was two years in the making, will be implemented next fall. HSU President Rollin Richmond said students should read the plan's draft and leave comments on how to make it better.

"We need your help in making sure this plan is a success," Richmond said. "Help us be a success by reminding us of our responsibility, but don't forget your own."

About 25 students, faculty and administration officials attended the unveiling.

Richmond read the first goal of the Diversity Action Plan's eight objectives.

"Goal No. 1 is to create an equitable institutional and social climate at HSU and the surrounding community that welcomes diverse students, staff and faculty, and fosters success for all members of Humboldt's learning community," Richmond said. "If we can do that, ladies and gentlemen, then we'll have done it."

The draft states 75 percent of HSU students come from outside of Humboldt County. It the last six years, students of color have fueled strong growth in the rest of the California State University system, but that growth has yet to materialize on the HSU campus. The state's population, the draft states, is not equitably represented within the HSU student population.

The plan states inequity also exists in the university's staff and faculty and will be looking to address those issues as well.

Through the plan, HSU will focus on bolstering links with local American Indian and Latino communities and Humboldt County's K-12 institutions. Links will also be strengthened with K-12 schools in diverse communities throughout California.

"We have a responsibility to creating diversity, because we as a community are a group of educated, smart and creative people," Richmond said. "This university can and should be a national leader in diversity."

Richmond said the draft was a blueprint for how to become that leader. He also said HSU should be a community leader as a model of diversity.

The plan mandates a number of initiatives, and states it will increase, even in times of budget crisis, funding for multicultural programs and recruitment of underrepresented students. A new academic directive will require all first-year students to take a seminar on diversity and social justice.

The preface of the draft asserts that diversity has educational benefits by providing a setting where students can interact and exchange ideas with others who are different from themselves. Such experiences, states the preface, allow students to grow intellectually by challenging long-held beliefs.

The plan will create Diversity Awards to recognize campus and community members who are working to create a more equitable community. It will also create an Office of Diversity and Equity Leadership by 2009 and develop a Diversity Training and Advocacy Institute for faculty and staff.

Students at the event raised questions about funding, broader community support and ways to enforce the plan.

The plan differs from the university's 1997 diversity proposal because it will enforce timelines and name those responsible for implementing action. To finance the plan, the university will be committed to search for major outside grants and providing matching funds. The exact dollar amount of the plan's implementation has yet to be determined, but HSU will request resources in the near future when the draft is presented to the Chancellor's Office and the Board of Trustees of the CSU system

"This doesn't need a lot of money," said HSU student Samantha Williams-Gray who worked on the plan. "It's more of a restructuring and encouraging of diversity."

Richmond said the plan will impact every aspect of the university, and every department will devote resources to implementing it.

He also encouraged students to hold him accountable for making sure the plan works. Richmond invited students to speak with him if they see him walking on campus, or to come to his office to discuss their concerns and ideas. He also said students should hold staff, faculty and themselves to the plan in a respectful manner.

If a concerned student received no response from the university's hierarchy, Richmond said they should then "jump in and affect a revolution."

"We need everyone in the university to take this to heart," he said.

Hard copies of the draft plan are available at the Diversity and Compliance Services, Room 220, in Siemans Hall. They are also available at student services centers throughout campus.

To view the draft on the web, go to www.humboldt.edu/~planning/focus/index.php , click on Diversity of People, and then scroll down to Diversity Action Plan Draft on the right side of the page. Comments can be left on the web or e-mailed to divplan@humboldt.edu.