EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University students are advocating for a new multicultural facility on campus to house minority organizations and provide meeting spaces and resources for students from marginalized communities.
University data indicates MSU welcomed its most diverse class to date in fall 2018. And yet minority organizations are spread across campus in small basement offices, according to the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students, which represents black, Latino, Native American and Asian student groups.
"Some of the spaces we have been provided with, like the Mosaic, can only fit about 72 to 76 (people)," said Sarah McConville, an MSU junior and chief diversity and inclusion officer for the Residence Halls Association. Culturas de las Razas Unidas — which aims to promote Latino/Chicano awareness at MSU — has hosted more than 100 attendees at its meetings, she said.
"They don't understand why our spaces aren't enough," McConville said.
McConville, an organizer for Students for a Multicultural Building, told the Lansing State Journal that she started a petition last spring to win support for an inclusive facility to serve as a collaborative space where members from all communities can meet, grow and learn.
Dr. Terrence Frazier, vice president of MSU student affairs and services and interim director of Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions, said he supports the idea of a multi-ethnic center.
"A lot of the organizations are centered in the Mosaic in the union or OCAT and across campus," said Frazier. "Having a building would be an additional resource to come together and learn about one another and have a more informal way of networking."
The drive for such a center on campus dates back to the 1960s, according to the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions website.
Miracle Chatman, another student working for the establishment of a multicultural center, said she hopes the efforts of Students for a Multicultural Building achieve their long-held goal.
"There have been students in the past who have advocated for the building, but it died out," Chatman said.
The organization is examining how other schools, such as University of Michigan, opened their multicultural spaces. The group is preparing an official proposal to present to MSU's administration, Chatman said.
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