Multicultural Resource Center will be modified

After prolonged debate about the mission of the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), the Standing Committee on Equality and Pluralism (SCOPE) has recommended that assistant deans for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) students and African-American students be hired to work in the MRC, according to sources close to the committee. In addition, the responsibilities of the assistant deans of Student Life and Services and interns who work in the MRC have been modified and will emphasize community programming and organization.

Assistant to the Dean of Student Life and Services Ken Holmes, who served on the committee, said of the report, "I think the document's a good document. I think the committee went above and beyond what it needed to do."

He said the committee thinks the MRC might want to return to a structure where assistant deans work with different campus communities.

SCOPE's final report will be sent to President Nancy Dye and Dean of Student Life and Services Charlene Cole-Newkirk today.

Earlier this semester Shilpa Dave, was hired to fill the newly created assistant dean position, which called for someone with a specialization in Asian-American issues. In response to the hiring, Theo Copley, student life intern in the MRC and member of the search committee, said, "I'm really excited about Shilpa's knowledge of Asian-American studies and issues facing Asian-American students."

When Cole-Newkirk arrived on campus, she created the MRC after disbanding the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), an office students and faculty had expressed dissatisfaction with, saying it had no clear mission, direction or funding.

At the time, Cole-Newkirk said she hoped to establish a more unified, campus-wide approach to multiculturalism. She said, "The OMA, I thought, was a short-term solution to a long-term problem. I would rather see very collaborative multicultural programming."

The OMA was created in 1993. But since its inception, it never had an official mission.

Cole-Newkirk then redefined the duties of the interns who work in the MRC, which was later moved from Daub House to Stevenson Hall. In the OMA, each intern represented and answered to a specific campus community. Groups represented included African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos and LGB students. But in the revamped MRC, interns work to improve multiculturalism on campus as a whole.

In the fall, two interns from the OMA remained employed in the MRC - Robin Russell, formerly the LGB intern, and Diem Nguyen, formerly the Asian-American intern. Two new interns, Pedro Arguello and Dedrick Dunbar, were hired, and assistant dean of Student Life Julia Nieves became MRC supervisor around the time the office changed locations. Nieves was hired last spring as a special adviser for the Latino community. Her job description originally placed her in the Student Academic Affairs Office.

Last year, the other two interns in the OMA resigned, citing personal reasons for leaving. Arguello and Dunbar filled the vacancies. Russell and Nguyen were left.

Cole-Newkirk said Nieves' appointment to MRC supervisor was not permanent. Next year, Ken Holmes will probably fill an associate dean position where he will oversee the MRC, according to Cole-Newkirk.

In the wake of Nieves' appointment and the office switch, Russell and Nguyen both resigned and SCOPE was given the charge of guiding the MRC and finding a mission for it.

Nguyen and Russell had served as interns since they graduated in 1994 and 1993, respectively. At the time of her departure, Russell said, "I do have the utmost faith in Charlene Cole. I've never seen an administrator who cares so much about Oberlin students and who has so much passion for the Oberlin experience. Students should give her a chance."

Nguyen said, "The process of change is going to take a long time. I'm really impatient right now and I don't want to wait for changes to take place. I'm not really bitter about anything."

Students complained about the decision to appoint Nieves as supervisor and the move of the offices, saying they should have been consulted about the decision.

"I don't really see that students really had a voice on anything that's gone on [in the MRC]," senior Vince Shleitwilter said in November.

Cole-Newkirk said the changes that have been made in the MRC are temporary and that she did not plan to attempt to fix them without direction from students and faculty. "I hope I don't get rocks painted and marches against me because I'm being unfair. I'm trying to be fair, but I don't have all the answers."

Seniors Erin Marks and Copley filled three month intern positions early this semester.