1990 14 July -- George Davis appointed UVM President.

1990 Fall -- Davis refuses to sign Waterman agreement, agrees to sign alternative plan.

1991 January -- President Davis announces he will not sign alternative plan.

1990-91 Academic Year -- Increased incidents of racial tensions on campus.

1991 22 April -- Second Waterman Takeover

Twenty-two students take over the president´s office in the University of Vermont´s Waterman Building and issue 18 demands for greater racial awareness and presence on campus. Hundreds of students gather in support. A personal perspective offered in an essay written by eight of the students who occupied the president´s office in May 1991: Karl Jagbanhandsingh, Christiana Keith, David Kim, John Kusakabe, Lynn Pono, Lisa Razo, Allen Urgent, and Josh Mitsuo Weiner.

April 23 -- UVM President George Davis climbs a ladder to his office several times to talk to the occupying students. He delays deadlines for the students to take down barricades.

April 24 -- Davis announces force will not be used to end the occupation and he will not negotiate during the occupation.

April 25 -- Hunger strike begins

May 3 -- Hunger strike ends

May 9 -- Davis says "the nature of the occupation" of his offices has changed and announces he can no longer rule out the use of force.

May 10 -- Student supporters of the protesters begin construction of Diversity University -- a collection of tents and shanties the group says will be the site of alternative education courses to make up for UVM´s lack of cultural diversity.

May 12 -- A pre-dawn raid by 56 police officers results in the arrest of eight students and one faculty member in Davis´ office. Eleven more are arrested outside the Waterman Buidling.

1991 Summer

Classes held in Diversity University.

Internal trials of seventeen students held, resulting in fines & probation, with questions as to validity of hearings, two of the students expelled, academic reasons.

Diversity University students say they are maintaining 24-hour security watches over their "campus" because of threats.

1991 16 June

New UVM Provost Dalmas Taylor meets with Diversity University students. Davis has said Taylor, who is black, was offered the job as UVM´s No. 2 academic official before the takeover of his offices.

1991 04 August

Citing the threats and a concern for the safety of students, Davis announces curfew at Diversity University structure between 12 am - 6 am.

1991 18 August

Vandals level Diversity University. The shacks are rebuilt a day later, with UVM´s help. Eventually, a sizeable and relatively conventional building is constructed.

1991 19 August -- Diversity University rebuilt, twenty-four hour watch arranged by students.

1991 05 September

With tensions on campus still running high over the issue of cultural diversity, the administration has taken steps to smooth race relations on campus. A Board of Trustees resolution has established a new program that combines both an executive committee and forums open to the entire UVM community. It is their hope that this proposal will help in attaining common diversity objectives.

The first step is the creation of an Institutional Diversity Committee. This committee will explore options that promote diversity on campus. Metivier-Redd hopes that it will consist of members from all facets of the university, including trustees, alumni, administration, faculty, staff, and students. The second part of the program consists of open forums that the entire campus and community are invited to attend. "It´s a vehicle for people to safely express their feelings and opinions about diversity," said Metivier-Redd.

Many students, including ones directly involved with Diversity University (DU) are skeptical about the new proposal. "It´s not a plan to do anything. It´s a plan to plan," said Christy Keith, a member of DU. "Maybe it´s a therapeutic thing, but the fact is that they´re not doing anything."

Karl Jagbandhansingh, another DU student, said he felt the committee was just a way for UVM to "alleviate white guilt. I don´t want to say it´s doomed from the start; I think there are possibilities. I´ve tended to become a little cynical thought," he said. I´ve yet to see an administrative committee about cultural diversity, set up by the administration, accomplish anything." said Jagbandhansingh.

1991 23 September

Over 50 students protesting the expulsion of two students involved in the spring takeover at Waterman stage a noon sit-in at Davis´ office. Police are summoned. One student arrested inside, six outside, policy against such sit-ins announced.

1991 26 September

Sit-in in President´s office to challenge new policy, no arrests. Fifty students protest at Waterman´s presidential wing. The sit-in ends at 4:30 pm without arrests.

1991 Fall -- Increased incidents of attacks and harassments of multi-cultural students.

1991 12 October

A UVM student and friend from Maine say they were held hostage for more than four hours by Diversity University students after being caught throwing a beer bottle that broke a shanty window. Diversity University students report hate crime, but instead face possible kidnapping charges which are later dropped.

1991 21 October -- Davis resigns, citing a lack of support for his leadership.

1991 23 October

Chittenden County State´s Attorney William Sorrell announces his office will not prosecute Diversity University students because the matter is too trivial.

1991 02 November

Former Vermont Governor Thomas Salmon, named interim president by UVM trustees, gives no immediate indication of how he will handle the diversity protest, but says he "will not be climbing any ladders".

1991 23 November

Diversity University is burned by an arsonist. President Salmon declares that no more such structures will be built until a policy on "symbolic structures" is developed.

1992 16 January -- Karl Jagbandhansingh acquitted on trespassing charge of 23 September

1992 Spring

In the Spring of 1992, an article in The Gadly outlines the continuing anti-racist struggle on campus.

1993 15 March

A report is released by the Vermont Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights examining campus tensions in Vermont.

1993 29 May

Anthony Chavez of Burlington is the new director of the University of Vermont Office of Multicultural Affairs, filling the position he has held on an interim basis since the Rev. Rodney Patterson left in February. Along with managing the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Chavez plans outreach activities for prospective ALANA students visiting campus and directs recruitment and retention programs for multiracial students. He also raises funds and writes grants for ALANA scholarships and multicultural enrichment programming.

1993 28 July -- Sigma Phi loses charter because of racist attiudes.

1993 28 July

Forty multicultural students are studying and researching at the University of Vermont this summer in the 13-year-old Summer Enrichment Scholarship Program, the 8-year-old Research Apprentice Program, and the new Vermont Initiative for Summer Intensive Training.

1993 21 December

The Commission on Racial Justice and Multicultural Education is charged "to serve as the principal group for planning, implementing and monitoring campus efforts in the area of racial equality and justice." This Commission is comprised of 22 students, staff and faculty and is a result of five years of work by various committees convened to look at issues of racial inequality and injustice. These committees included: the Coalition of Institutional Diversity, the McCrorey Structure Committee, and the Interim Commission on Racial Equality and Justice.

1994 02 June

Robert Low, the interim University of Vermont provost for the past two years, has been named to the permanent post following a year-long search that attracted dozens of candidates from throughout the country. Low said his enthusiasm stems from his firm belief in the outcomes of the ongoing strategic planning process. He played a major role in the President´s Commission on Critical Choices that helped craft a vision for the university´s future. "Our course has been set, but there still is much to be accomplished through stable pursuit of the objectives and goals we have put before us," said Low. "I look forward very much to working with President Salmon and the university community to meet the challenge."

1994 Fall Semester

The newly appointed Commission on Racial Justice and Multicultural Education was charged with creating a job description for an Executive Officer. In November, 1994, the Commission began formulating the position description and forwarded their recommendations to the Provost, Robert Low. Subsequently, suggestions for change from the Provost´s office were incorporated and the position description was re-submitted, with the title and structure reflecting clear accountability to the Commission.

1994 13 October

UVM officials and Burlington community members meet to discussing hiring practices of the state´s largest school and one of the area´s largest employers. Community people at the meeting said the school needed to hire and keep minority faculty and administrators, and not just inflate their numbers with lower-level jobs.

1994 30 October -- State investigation initiated into UVM hiring practices regarding minorities.

1994 December 5

A federal commission updating its report on racial tensions at the University of Vermont and Middlebury comes on the heels of a state investigation into the minority hiring practices at UVM.

A November 1992 draft of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission´s report said both institutions needed to work on racial equality on campus. The federal commission´s report is part of an investigation into racial tension on the nation´s campuses.

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