Racial tensions in the community boiled to the surface recently over a conflict about naming the new community building after a major contributor who is Asian.

In the wake of the controversy, representatives from the Cupertino Courier approached Cupertino City Manager David Knapp to propose a community forum where people could express their feelings about the dramatic change in the city's demographics. The city has gone from a mostly Caucasian community to one that is some 44 percent Asian.

Knapp agreed that a forum would be good, and suggested Shawn Spano to facilitate it.

Spano has worked with the community since 1996 when he proposed to then city manager Don Brown that his Public Dialogue Consortium organize a community project designed to enhance the quality of public communication in Cupertino. Spano carefully studied the unique dynamics of Cupertino and out of this project came community forums on differing issues including the city's changing demographics.

"These cultural issues and conflicts are not solved 'once and for all,'" Spano says. "They need to be examined and discussed in an ongoing manner, which is why this next forum is so important."

He said the forums provide community members with the skills necessary to talk about this sensitive and controversial issue in productive and constructive ways.

Participants in the August forum will come together in small groups with trained facilitators where they will talk openly and listen to each others' concerns and issues about the city's changing demographics. Groups will report back to the larger group to share and hear what issues came up in other groups. The morning then shifts focus to what can be done about the issues and concerns that surfaced.

Bill Mannion, Cupertino resident and producer for Cupertino Senior TV Productions, attended a similar forum facilitated by Spano.

"The forum is a wonderful tool because of its ripple effect," Mannion said. "You learn facts and perspectives you didn't know before at this kind of honest talk." He said the information gets passed on at a dinner party or through casual conversation, spreading their impact far beyond the meeting hall.

Mannion, whose wife is Chinese, also said that it's important to keep cultural differences in mind in an environment where people are speaking candidly. "Americans are loud mouths. We wear our hearts on our sleeves," he said. "Asian immigrants are more reserved." Still he says speaking to each other is a wonderful tool. It helps build community and the quality of life in Cupertino. "What's the alternative?" he said.

Spano has high hopes for Cupertino, a city that he says has always dealt with conflict in productive ways. "Cupertino has proven through its previous forums that it can discuss this issue in ways that enable people to speak candidly and listen openly to others in a climate of trust and respect," he said.

City Manager Knapp said, "I think this forum is a healthy next step for Cupertino."