As a Multicultural Center, one of our primary goals is to uphold our mission statement, which states that we were established to “promote personal growth, leadership development, cultural pluralism, community education, positive social change and the ending of human oppression. We attempt to achieve this mission using various means to actively engage topics such as gender, sexual orientation, economics, religion and international issues, with primary emphasis on race and ethnicity.”
In order to fulfill this goal, the Multicultural Center has a staff and a board of members from various student organizations, unions and associations who meet weekly. Our job is to bring diverse speakers and events to this campus to create dialogue and conversation among the University community. These meetings are open to all, including community members, in order to create a safe space where all voices will be equally heard. This includes discussion on whom and what is brought to the University and the organizing of these events.
As a broader community, we should be able to value and learn from various forms of free speech on this campus – it is not realistic for us to bring completely unbiased speakers. As a staff and board of the MCC, we believe that while we may not necessarily agree 100 percent with everything our speakers say, they create dialogue and conversation among students, staff, faculty and the greater community. That is one of the reasons that we try to get a variety of speakers to come to the University – to better achieve multicultural and diverse opinions and perspectives on issues affecting our communities.
As a Multicultural Center, we encourage all members of the University community to get involved in the various services we offer and take advantage of the opportunity to create an impact. The more voices that we have on the board, the more we can better represent the University community, and that is why we encourage you to learn about the seats we currently have open on the MCC board. Please stop by at 33 Erb Memorial Union, located in the basement.
Lorena Landeros is the MCC Board Chair