The Multicultural Center and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center moved to the fourth floor of the Student Union. Faculty, staff and students are excited for the new space.
Unlike the Math Science building, the Union is central to campus. The resource center has three rooms, for both multicultural students and LGBTQ+ students, as well as a lobby.
“We think it’s just awesome,” Katie Stygles, assistant director for diversity education and resource center staff, said. “It’s a sign of commitment from the University.”
Both centers, multicultural and LGBTQ+, are larger than the whole area of the last one, Stygles said.
The resource center moved to the Math Science building after the last building it was housed in, Saddlemire, was torn down.
“We’ve kind of been nomads, getting moved around without a real home,” said Sheila Brown, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. “I’m overwhelmed with how full my heart is for having this center here.”
During the ribbon cutting, Thomas Gibson, Vice President of Student Affairs, thanked student groups Call to Action, Black Student Union, Latino Student Union and Queer/Trans Student Union for their efforts in making sure the new resource center was put in place.
Brown said the new resource center has been a long time in the making.
“It was kind of a grassroots effort from students,” Stygles said.
Students worked for years to get the resource center moved to a more accessible and central location, Katie Dorfmeyer, resource center student ambassador, said.
Students put together a list of demands after they felt unsafe at the University, and they have been committed to recruiting other students who have the same passion to make sure those demands were met, Brown said.
Students involved on campus with groups like BSU or QTSU were excited to access the new resource center.
“It looks really great. It’s really cool that we got a new center for groups that are not usually heard on campus to be in the center of campus,” said Angelica Euseary, president of BSU.
This new resource center holds 40-45 people and is a hub for campus life where students can feel at home, Stygles said.
“It’s great,” said Jo Wilson, QTSU historian. “It’s exciting to have a roof over our heads and not just in some random cubicle.”
The resource center will be home to many groups and meetings. QTSU and OUT Falcons meet on Tuesdays. There are also student of color support groups like Sister to Sister and We Got Each Other.
Multicultural dialogues will also be held on Mondays in the resource center.
