Spring Break
Univ. announces plans for multicultural center
Issue date: 9/25/08
The University has finalized plans to re-open a multicultural center on N. Charles Street by spring of 2011, in response to multicultural student groups' requests for a space to call their own.
Plans to move the Center back to 3505 N. Charles St., where it used to be located, from its Mattin Center location have been discussed on campus for years but were motivated in large part by the controversial "Halloween in the 'Hood" incident at Sigma Chi two years ago, according to Rosemary Varner-Gaskins, the recently resigned director of multicultural student affairs.
"After the instance of racism at Sigma Chi, we [various multicultural student groups] had meetings with President Brody about how to proceed, and in those discussions, one of the first things students requested was a safe space," Varner-Gaskins said.
The multicultural offices moved to the Mattin Center from Charles Street seven years ago. According to Varner-Gaskins, the offices moved then because the administration hoped that it would enable student affairs staffs to work together more closely. However, she felt that this convenience was at the expense of the students' comfort.
"The Sigma Chi incident gave a sense of urgency to why it is so important to have a place where not just multicultural students can gather, but all students who share a sense of cultural identity," Program Coordinator for Diversity and Multicultural Initiatives Carla Henry Hopkins said.
According to Varner-Gaskins, the Mattin Center was not conducive to the types of discussions that multicultural groups needed to have during those times.
"When you walk into a setting like the Mattin center, the difficulty in that is that you have so many different offices right together, and sometimes students just want to say what they're feeling openly," she said.
In the aftermath of the party at Sigma Chi, multicultural student leaders also resurrected the notion of moving back to a building of their own. Student leaders from the Black Student Union (BSU) and OLÉ submitted a request to President Brody, asserting that students of color needed a safe place, a place to re-group, connect and work closely with other multicultural organizations.
Plans to move the Center back to 3505 N. Charles St., where it used to be located, from its Mattin Center location have been discussed on campus for years but were motivated in large part by the controversial "Halloween in the 'Hood" incident at Sigma Chi two years ago, according to Rosemary Varner-Gaskins, the recently resigned director of multicultural student affairs.
"After the instance of racism at Sigma Chi, we [various multicultural student groups] had meetings with President Brody about how to proceed, and in those discussions, one of the first things students requested was a safe space," Varner-Gaskins said.
The multicultural offices moved to the Mattin Center from Charles Street seven years ago. According to Varner-Gaskins, the offices moved then because the administration hoped that it would enable student affairs staffs to work together more closely. However, she felt that this convenience was at the expense of the students' comfort.
"The Sigma Chi incident gave a sense of urgency to why it is so important to have a place where not just multicultural students can gather, but all students who share a sense of cultural identity," Program Coordinator for Diversity and Multicultural Initiatives Carla Henry Hopkins said.
According to Varner-Gaskins, the Mattin Center was not conducive to the types of discussions that multicultural groups needed to have during those times.
"When you walk into a setting like the Mattin center, the difficulty in that is that you have so many different offices right together, and sometimes students just want to say what they're feeling openly," she said.
In the aftermath of the party at Sigma Chi, multicultural student leaders also resurrected the notion of moving back to a building of their own. Student leaders from the Black Student Union (BSU) and OLÉ submitted a request to President Brody, asserting that students of color needed a safe place, a place to re-group, connect and work closely with other multicultural organizations.
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