Several dozen Kansas University students and faculty members discussed issues facing underrepresented students Wednesday evening in the lobby of the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center.

The conversation was led by Nathan Thomas, the university’s vice provost for diversity and equity.

“With our black and hispanic communities, people of color and LGTB plus, I feel we’re in a state of crisis nationally,” Thomas told the group.

For more than an hour, students took turns discussing specific “blatant” and “micro-aggressions” they’ve experienced on and around campus.

A large goal of the conversation was to identify both challenges facing minority students and potential solutions, Thomas told the group.

The group also discussed working to build and strengthen a sense of community as a way of increasing the university’s graduation and retention rates among underrepresented students.

“That graduation piece becomes important because you’re the now and you’re the future,” Thomas said. “I definitely want to change the culture in how you can feel safe and how you can excel.”