14A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2003
NEWS
University sets goal to build new center by fall 2005
By Johanna M. Maska
jmaska@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Seven hours away from home, and miles from family comfort, Melanie Weiser found a home away from home at the Multicultural Resource Center, more commonly known as the MRC.
It wasn't that the Dallas senior felt an immediate draw to the center, Weiser said. She didn't know that the "shack," as she called it, housed anything other than storage.
As a freshman seeking a comfortable environment, Weiser joined Hillel, a Jewish student organization. Charged with working on a Hillel project with Santos Nuñez, MRC director, Weiser found her niche.
Weiser is now the president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and is a member of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, a traditionally Latina and Hispanic sorority. And, like many, she's excited about the prospect of a new MRC.
The MRC, originally a Student Senate concept in 1991, became a reality in 1995 at its
location between the Military Science Building and Summerfield Hall.
Now, Senate is spearheading the construction with the help of Kansas University Endowment Association of a new MRC location, an addition to the Kansas Union.
Student funds are rolling in at a clip of $3.50 per person per semester, said Catherine Bell, student body vice president. An unnamed donor is expected to confirm a pledge of more than half the cost of the estimated $2.5 million project.
If the donor is secured this
Kansan file photo
Multicultural Resource Center Timeline
MRC 's beainnings
The current location was originally deemed temporary because of an insufficient structure. In 2002, maps for the future of University of Kansas campus did not include the center.
The Multicultural Resource Center, currently located behind the Military Science Building, is waiting to find its new home as an addition to the Kansas Union. If Student Senate finds a person to donate $2.5 million by the end of this month, the building could open by fall 2005.
month, the building is expected to open in Fall 2005.
Instead, a parking lot covered the grounds. Students dissatisfied with alternatives, pushed for a new center that existed independently of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
At the Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska Symposium on Multicultural and Minority Affairs Offices held at campus last week, Lonnie R. Williams, associate vice chancellor of Student Affairs at Arkansas State University, spoke of the importance of cultural centers on traditionally white campuses. His presentation noted the basis of multicultural centers as a response to civil rights movements.
He also emphasized an importance of the centers in today's university atmosphere.
"College enrollment among students of color has increased more than 48 percent during the past decade, including a gain of
nearly 15 percent since 1995," he said.
He encouraged centers to address "campus climate," provide the campus connection with the human touch and develop a method of advance warning for those in academic trouble.
These and other services such as organizational support for the student groups such as Asian American Student Union, Black Student Union, Diversity Peer Education Team, First Nations
Student Association, Hillel, HALO, National Pan-Hellenic Council and Queers & Allies, are all other considerations in the expansion of the MRC.
Weiser expects only good can come of the move.
"It's every student's right, regardless of whether or not you are a minority, to have access to a center that provides multicultural resources," said Weiser.
Multicultural guide aims to help students learn about city
Edited by Cate Batchelder
By Johanna M. Maska
jmaska@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Check out Checkers for some quality Hispanic cuisine or find out where Lawrence's stops on the Underground Railroad were.
These and many other tips for incoming students are in a new guide called Smooth Transitions.
James Owen, Springfield Mo., third-year law student, worked with a committee of students and administrators to
develop the multicultural guide geared toward non-traditional and graduate students. The guide aims to acclimate students to Lawrence.
Owen has been involved in diversity programs at the University of Kansas since he arrived in Lawrence three years ago.
Last March, as the executive director of the Graduate and Professional Association, Owen chaired a Diversity Issue Summit that asked students to come with ideas to enhance the University for every student.
"There is a belief that multiculturalism is synonymous with minorities, whereas everyone will benefit from a multicultural awareness," Owen said.
Tony Daniels, associate director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the guide would be useful for all students. Daniels is organizing a Multicultural Student Success Conference. As part of this conference, he is in contact with corporations and Kansas businesses that he thinks put a premium on multicultural experience.
"Everyone will benefit from a multicultural awareness."
James Owen
Springfield, Mo., third-year law student
The idea for Smooth Transitions came from Jamel Bell, St. Joseph, Mo., graduate student. Bell did research on similar guides at other universities and thought the formula could work for KU.
Owen modeled the Univer.
sity guide after a Harvard University guide for African-American and Hispanic students.
But Owen said he expanded upon Harvard's guide. The roughly 40-page Smooth Transitions includes broader, nonrace issues such as religion and sexuality.
"This is truly unique," Owen said.
Daniels thinks the audience Owen targets deserves more attention.
Undergraduate students have a set orientation process. The University contacts them before
they arrive and holds activities such as Junior days and Super Saturdays.
The reality, he said, was that anyone new to the community needed this information.
"The bad thing for grad students is that there is an assumption that they know what to do," Owen said.
Owens wants the guide to serve as a starting point for those wanting to find their way through Lawrence businesses.
- Edited by Erin Riffey
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