Ethnic centers to share space

Mesa Vista Hall renovations may force ethnic centers to start sharing resources.

The building, home to the three ethnic centers, hasn’t been renovated since the 1980s, said Veronica Mendez-Cruz, El Centro de la Raza director. She said as part of the renovations, the building would have one centralized ethnic center instead of each having its own location.
“I can tell you that I can look in any direction, standing anywhere on campus and find a capital project that needs to happen,” she said. “So you’re at a time where you’ve got your vice president’s support, you’ve got the provost’s support as well as the president, so I want to make it clear that it’s hard to get this level of attention, given the economic climate, and I hope you look at this as an opportunity.”

Black Student Union President Patrick Barrett said merging the centers could leave one group underrepresented.

“Speaking as an African American, since our numbers are so low, we’re going to get impacted the most,” he said. “We are very, very protective right now because a lot of our students aren’t from the state of New Mexico. This is their only place they call home.”

Jozi De Leon, of Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Melissa Vargas, of the Provost’s Office, discussed the matter with students and staff from the ethnic centers Oct. 20.

De Leon said the centers wouldn’t completely merge, but because of budget constraints, some services will likely be communal.
“It’s important when you go to an individual center that you have people that are role models, that understand where you came from, understand your identity,” she said.

The ethnic centers don’t have to produce a proposal until March 2011, and in the meantime they can work out a solution, said Stephanie Oyenque, a graduate assistant in American Indian Student Services.

“If we find ways to share space where there’s not an emotional or personal attachment, I think it could work,” she said.
De Leon urged students and staff to compromise when deciding what changes will happen.

“You know what happens when somebody dies and they end up fighting over the money left over in the will?” De Leon said. “It can tear people apart, and I don’t want to see that happen. So I want you to think about your own space, but also think about others, and that we’re trying to fulfill a need for all three of the centers.”