Bob Moses Multicultural Center October 2007

The Social Justice Initiative
Contact: Stephanie Tafur

Bob Moses Multicultural Center

The Multicultural Center would offer students who identify with groups that have been traditionally marginalized a safe space on Hamilton Campus.

These groups include, but are not limited to:
-Black Student Union -La Vanguardia
-Asian Cultural Society, -West Indian African Association
-Womyn’s Center -Rainbow Alliance
-Muslim Student Association -Middle Eastern Students Association
-International Students Association

A legitimate Multicultural Center should be the next significant campus improvement. Until then the ALCC needs to be immediately renovated to serve the needs of the students in the interim.

Rationale…

Naming this center after Bob Moses would honor and recognize the achievements of this under-acknowledged alumnus.

This space is essential to the experience of students who, because of their race, ethnicity, economic background, gender, sexual orientation, or any other criteria, are historically classified as Other. Because Hamilton succeeds in providing a comfortable and ‘safe’ campus for the majority of the students, this space effectively becomes ‘white’ space. Although all students are welcome all over campus, there should be a space set aside where marginalized students can go to be ‘safe’. This center also offers an alternative to many other buildings at Hamilton that represent a perpetuation of ‘white’ success through their names and histories. As this center would be open to all students, it provides a necessary forum for white students to learn about and celebrate others.

Inherently different than a student union…

It is essential that this space is separate from a conventional Student Union because it serves the specific purpose of creating a forum for marginalized students to convene and communicate. This reserved space in the Multicultural Center exists in addition to space in a Student Union. This demonstrates a tangible, structural commitment on the part of the college to multiculturalism and diversity on campus. Further, a separate center celebrates rather than assimilates or segregates difference. A traditional student union, even if granting meeting space to multicultural groups is not adequate because this is still not a 'safe space'. Perhaps other organizations dislike their current meeting spaces in Bristol, List, KJ, Beinecke, ELS, etc. but when they meet they feel comfortable and unthreatened. This is their privilege - it is not even a thought, which is why it is so important to keep in mind while planning. Many of Hamilton’s peer schools have very successful Multicultural centers and is essential Hamilton hasn’t followed this trend.

Where it would be…

The Multicultural Center needs to be in a central location not only so that it is easily accessible but also because it would demonstrate the central importance of diversity at Hamilton College.
• If the current Afro-Latin Cultural Center were expanded and renovated significantly, it has potential to satisfy the need for a Multicultural Center.
• The Emerson Literary Society and North/ South Court also offer great potential spaces.

Further this facility will be fully maintained by the college to emphasize their commitment to the experience of diverse and multicultural students. Obviously, it would be easily accessible to every student.

What it would look like…

The Multicultural Center will offer space to all multicultural organizations and organizations for people historically categorized as the other.
• Each organization will have its own office and meeting space. This allows members of the e-board to have a space to store materials, work together, and meet about organizational business. Individual meeting spaces for each organization allows members to take ownership of the space, personalizing it and therefore making it ‘safe’. As members design and decorate their meeting room they tie their history to the place of Hamilton. These spaces would be open when the organizations are not using them and function similarly to the departmental common rooms in the science center.
• A variety of conference rooms create adequate space for larger group meetings and speakers. This also allows rooms that organizations or groups of people without their own space (other organizations) to take advantage of the facilities of the Multicultural Center.
• A Common room provides places for students to study, gather, and mingle. This forum facilitates interaction and cooperation between different organizations.
• A computer lab comparable to others on campus gives individual students and organizations a immediate resource
• A library offers space not only for reference resources but also a place to document the history of the various organizations represented in the Multicultural Center
• An exhibit space encourages students to take ownership of the center through art and other forms of self-expression
• There should also be a large multipurpose space for large speakers, gatherings, and events