Center for Multicultural Services Opens

Karen Shum depicted her vision of peace and diversity as a house inside of a heart symbol. She drew it on a colorful quilt to be displayed at the University of La Verne’s new Center for Multicultural Services, which celebrated its grand opening Sept. 7.

“I would like everyone to have a home that’s warm and loving,” the Chinese senior sociology major said. “I would like the campus community to be like that.”

That is the kind of home the university hopes the center will be for students.

Multicultural services have been a part of the university since 1990, when the Minority Student Center opened. It has changed and expanded in the years since, becoming the Office of Multicultural Services in 2006.

Staff assigned to the center advise student cultural clubs, lead the First Generation Student Success Program and organize cultural graduations. The department provides campus-wide diversity training and encourages members of the campus community to explore the cultural significance of their own backgrounds, as well as others.

Students, staff and faculty gathered at the new center in the Sports Science & Athletics Pavilion for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to contribute unity messages to the center’s quilt. It is a larger space, allowing more student groups to gather, discuss issues of diversity and plan campus events surrounding multiculturalism.

“I think it would offer a good home, especially for international students to come and meet other international students and network,” said Aika Kitilya, a senior majoring in kinesiology and a member of the Multicultural Club Council.

In a national climate of unrest, the center also provides a safe zone for students to discuss diversity concerns and communicate them with university leaders.

“It’s an important issue and we need to do our part to make sure we’re meeting our students’ needs, particularly as a Hispanic Serving Institution,” said Veronica Runnels, chair of the school psychology program.

Carlos Yanes, a senior majoring in English, said he and other students requested a larger multicultural center last year so multicultural clubs could hold meetings and plan events. He was excited to see his request come to life.

“I know I’m going to benefit from it, and other students will also benefit from it,” he said.

University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman thanked Director of Multicultural Affairs Daniel Loera, Provost Jonathan Reed and Vice Provost Beatriz Gonzalez for their work to bring the center to a new location.

“This is a new day to carry on what is the core of the university,” Lieberman said. It’s a better space, it’s a bigger space, but it’s just the beginning.”