When the MultiCultural Center opened its doors Jan. 15 — Martin Luther King Day — in 1981, it was initially only supposed to function as a lounge where minority students could hang out.
“Students of color didn’t have a place to meet and talk,” coordinator of MultiCultural Programs and Services Renoda Campbell said. “They wanted to see people who looked like them.”
Though the Center has grown to become more than just a lounge, offering programs and services for all students on campus, Cal Poly diversity (or the lack thereof) remains.
With an undergraduate population of 62.8 percent white students, according to the most recent 2011 PolyView study, Cal Poly does not qualify as one of the most diverse California State Universities. In contrast, California State University, East Bay’s University Profile for 2012 states their university is 21.6 percent white, while San Diego State University’s recent demographics show a campus whose undergraduate students are 37.8 percent white.
The MultiCultural Center is dedicated to providing cultural resources and meaningful dialogues about diversity as a part of Student Life and Leadership. Student Life also organizes Student Orientation and Registration (SOAR), greek life and the Pride Center.
“We have a long way to go insofar as making it a staple in the Cal Poly community,” Campbell said. “It can sometimes be a challenge.”
One such challenge came in 2008 when a group of students defaced the Crops House with racist and homophobic slurs and symbols. Campbell said following the incident, the Center met with students and then-President Warren Baker in order to navigate a plan of action.
She said when it comes to dealing with diversity, students should not be afraid to ask questions.
“I just think that within their career at Cal Poly, students should come to one event and see what the MCC is all about,” Campbell said.
Joy Harkins is one of the individuals who makes these events possible.
She has been the MultiCultural Center coordinator since last fall. Her job is to advise, support and educate students, faculty and staff about cultural resources.
“In the short time that I’ve been in this position, I’ve become aware that a lot of people are not aware of what we are and what we do,” Harkins said.
The Center receives state general funds, and the programs they put on are funded by Instructionally Related Activities Fees students pay at the start of each quarter. These fees, not related to Associated Students, Inc. or tuition, pay for learning opportunities outside of the classroom, such as Engineers Without Borders.
Though students pay in part for the programs put on by the Center, they still may not understand the benefits it provides.
“One of the challenges Cal Poly faces is attracting diverse students, while experiencing a lack of diversity,” Harkins said. “However, I am encouraged by my experiences with faculty and students. They are interested and well-intended, but they need more opportunities to interact with people who are different than they are.”
While some schools are able to offer specialized clubs such as black or asian student unions, Harkins said there would not be an adequate minority representation to create these clubs at Cal Poly. In contrast, University of California, Berkeley has 235 cultural student organizations.
The Center, located upstairs in the University Union, has hosted successful programs to increase dialogues about diversity since Harkins started. It also offers Diversity Advocate Training, which works to raise awareness about cultural issues and support populations that may be underrepresented on campus. These trainings are modeled after Pride Ally trainings.
Harkins said she is especially proud of a program offered during fall and winter quarters called Civic Reflection.
“Civic Reflection is a one-hour discussion about a shared reading,” Harkins said. “It can be about diversity, religion, values and spirituality. We held them once a week and they were very well attended.”
Architecture sophomore Matthew Truss is a cross cultural coordinator at the Center.
“At Cal Poly, there are mostly white students from mostly white neighborhoods,” Truss said. “The world doesn’t necessarily look like that and there’s a preparedness that needs to come before that shock.”
Truss himself is from Chicago and said he knows that a campus is only as diverse as the students who attend it.
“I want Cal Poly to get out of its box,” Truss said. “It won’t be that hard actually. It takes initiative, realizing there’s more. Once you achieve that, everything else should follow.”