The Bruce Lee Project, an organization pushing for a Bruce Lee memorial on campus, met with the UW Board of Regents yesterday evening in an attempt to gain the support of the board.

“What we’re trying to do,” said Jamil Suleman, UW alumnus and leader of The Bruce Lee Project, “is create solidarity with the administration, because in the end they have say on whether or not something is going to get approved on this campus.”

What The Bruce Lee Project seeks to accomplish is the creation of a community peace garden on campus, as both a memorial to Bruce Lee and a place for people in the community to freely enjoy.

In anticipating the question of why a garden on campus should memorialize Bruce Lee, Suleman emphasized that although Lee did not graduate from the UW, he was nevertheless a UW student and has a great legacy here.

“There are statues and gardens on this campus for people that not only never attended the University of Washington, but never even entered the United States,” Suleman said. “This is a man who is from here, and it was on this campus that he became Bruce Lee. There should be something said about our respect of diverse perspectives, and he was and always will be just as much a member of our campus community as anyone else.”

Suleman spoke of ways in which Lee could be an inspiration to students.

“Bruce Lee broke a lot of barriers,” he said. “He was the first Asian-American to break into American cinema.”

Suleman is confident that the money can be found from community members eager to support the creation of the peace garden. He is hoping to work with the University administration to get the project underway.

Once the project came before the board and presented their proposal, however, the response they received from the board was not what they were expecting.

“I’m just curious if you are aware of the processes at the University for projects,” said Constance Proctor, a regent on the board. “Has someone talked to you about that?”

Craig Cole, the chief of the Board of Regents, added, “There are people within the institution that would be much more helpful for you.“

Some good did come of the ill-fated meeting, however.

“Maybe I can ask if someone in the administration might direct you as to the process for getting projects approved,” Proctor said.

Contributing writer Robin Kallsen contributed to this story.

Reach Anthony Michael Erickson at news@dailyuw.com.