An Open Letter to the MSU Administration

February 1, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

As a student activist at Michigan State University who is dedicated to maintaining the diversity upon this campus, I feel it is my duty to express to you my opinions about the student space available to student organizations and the abilities for likeminded groups to network with one another.

It is my belief, and the belief of many of my colleagues that MSU should have a central location for the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students and the Council of Progressive Students (CORES/COPS) groups, along with a number of other racial, ethnic and progressive groups that are not affiliated with ASMSU, to host meetings, programs, and educational conferences. This idea has been brought before Provost Kim Wilcox and Dr. Lee June in past years under the opinion that there should be a free-standing Multicultural Center (MCC), and as of yet, nothing has been done. Time and time again, evidence has shown that the current space allotted to these students groups is not sufficient for running productive meetings and does not support the diversity of MSU student life. The current MCC is hidden in the basement of the Union – a space might I add that is hardly accessible. Similarly, the COPS groups are neglected into a small space on the fourth floor of the Union – room 441. This office has one meeting space, and three small back offices. However, this space houses five COPS groups.

It can be further argued that the Union – although at many Universities, their student Union buildings are meant for benefitting students, our Union is unfriendly towards student groups, preferring to make a profit from outside organizations than to allow students to use the space. (Minus a one and a half hour time slot that is free to students after business hours on the third floor – which can only be used once during a week before that student group is expected to pay money out of pocket in order to use those rooms). Why is it that the commercial gain of the university outweighs the interests of its students?

As a past president of Women’s Council, a COPS group, I can speak personally to the fact that the COPS groups need more space! At our first meeting of Fall semester, we had over 55 people attend. We were cramped and many people were turned away from continuing their attendance because of the fear that they would be forced to sit on the floor, like they did at their first meeting. If we had a larger space, we could reach many more students dedicated to ending sexism and sexist exploitation. There needs to be a space on this campus to promote and support racial, ethnic and progressive students and the unique issues and circumstances they face on a college campus.

President Lou Anna K. Simon said it best in her State of the University Address in February of 2007, “Across the nation and here in Michigan, structural social inequalities persist. These inequalities result in tangible disparities in things like income levels and access to quality education and health care, and intangible disparities like reduced expectations and respect. They are insidious because they limit individual dreams and collective innovation. We must commit ourselves to reversing these trends. In times like these, universities must step up to help lead us forward. It is our thinkers and visionaries who can help chart the course to greater prosperity… And it is persistent commitment to equal opportunity and inclusion that will provide the cultural and global competence citizens need in the 21st century.” Administrators of Michigan State can tote their phrases about being dedicated to diversity all they want, but the truth is, many are ignoring the marginalization of the multicultural and progressive students on this campus. It is more important now than ever before to show our true dedication to maintaining a safe, friendly and diverse environment on campus since the passage of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. We must have a visible, viable, and school supported multicultural focus – not one that forces multicultural groups into basements and “attics.”

I propose that in order to solve the inadequate amount of space and literal separation of likeminded groups on campus, that we all work together to find a space/building that would be more useful and central for the use of student organizations. It is difficult to create any cohesive inter-group work on campus if we do not have a common space that is friendly to our efforts. If we had everything in one building, it would be more efficient and would foster a better community of cross-communication and working with one another to host programs, events on campus and create a positive environment for all students.

Thank you for your time, and please take these concerns to heart. Do not ignore the requests of students who are already marginalized in many cases.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. My email is weisslyd@msu.edu.

Sincerely,


Lydia Weiss
“A concerned MSU Student”
Sociology
Concentration in Women, Gender, Social Justice
Senior