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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,July 13, 2015 <br /> Page 20 <br /> At the request of Councilmember Willmus, Ms. Collins noted recent meetings of <br /> HRC Commissioners with Roseville Area School instructors in addressing how to <br /> fit the essay question into their curriculum. Ms. Collins noted it was often frus- <br /> trating for instructors to fit it into the curriculum other than through extra credit <br /> focus. <br /> Going back a number of years, Councilmember Willmus noted the interest and <br /> participation by numerous schools, including those from the private sector; and <br /> questioned why that was no longer evidenced, with only one school participating <br /> in the 2015 essay contest. <br /> Ms. Collins responded that other schools were invited to participate in 2015, but <br /> had not done so. Ms. Collins opined that the HRC has found a niche in working <br /> cooperatively with instructors and their curriculum about cultural awareness and <br /> education and efforts to bring cultural understanding to the forefront. If that is a <br /> continued direction by the City Council to the HRC, Ms. Collins asked that it be <br /> clearly communicated. <br /> If the City Council considered Option B, Councilmember Etten asked how a <br /> meeting would be structured or a year's worth of agendas to meet the different as- <br /> pects of a much-broader group and much-broader interests. <br /> Ms. Collins advised that she would recommend a larger commission; and task <br /> those participants, at a future meeting, to craft functions for greater clarity on <br /> which to focus efforts. If a 9-11 member commission was created, Ms. Collins <br /> suggested using different subgroups to address those efforts, which she recom- <br /> mended the City Council direct those charges with the Commission and take time <br /> to detail tangible goals versus the current generic goal to "create greater aware- <br /> ness to community..." If the City Council desires a cultural celebration of some <br /> variety, Ms. Collins suggested that goal be written down as a collaborative effort <br /> by residents and the City Council to develop those details beyond this initial out- <br /> line represented by the RCA. <br /> Public Comment <br /> Wayne Groff, HRC Chair <br /> In response to why people join the HRC, Mr. Groff noted one reason was because <br /> of their concern that people's voices had not been heard historically; and noted <br /> the distinction between the HRC and CEC on that note. Mr. Groff noted that <br /> most people groups had experienced some form of discrimination in the past; and <br /> the local HRC provided a non-threatening voice for them, providing a way to ad- <br /> dress those concerns locally versus at the state level where their complaint may <br /> not rise high enough to be addressed. As an example from his past service on the <br /> HRC in another community, Mr. Groff noted the ability to facilitate a quick reso- <br /> lution in providing a human face of the City and in a less formal atmosphere than <br />