Students Express Concern About Multicultural Center Resources

A once loud and bustling hallway is now quiet, with only a couple of students around but no personnel. Located in Bolton Hall, it houses the Roberto Hernandez Center, Black Student Cultural Center, Southeast Asian American Student Center and the American Indian Student Center.

 “I know that many students rely very heavily on our centers,” said Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Chia Vang. “There are some that come all the time and need our help, so we do our very best to support them.”

A student organization, Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), recently made a call to action on social media for students to call out UWM administrators regarding possible cuts to Multicultural Centers. 

“If UWM truly is proud of being a diverse institution, the support for diversity has to span across years,” said Victoria Isaac, a member of the group. “It felt very ironic for UWM administration to say that they support students of color, but then we see how they are cutting positions in these centers.”

But Vang said that no cuts are being made to permanent staff or programs. 

The centers provide advice to students throughout their college careers by working with them to create action plans to accomplish their academic goals. The centers also offer resources and create cultural events to encourage student achievement, a sense of belonging and cross-cultural learning. 

“[If multicultural centers are cut], I would be very hurt and perplexed because these centers are needed,” said UWM junior Ashanti Davis. “The advice and connection matters, which pushes students to keep going, making these centers a necessity.”

As of July 1, two of the multicultural centers will be losing their program associates, which are limited-term clerical employees, due to budget constraints in two funds earmarked for diversity work and initiatives on campus through the Division of Global Inclusion and Engagement.

“Cultural competency is very important and the centers play such an important role, that’s why they exist,” said Vang. “That’s why I work every day to try to promote them and get them to be involved in all kinds of different places, to have a greater impact.”

The Division of Global Inclusion and Engagement share of budget cut for this fiscal year was 4.2%, while the overall General Education Administration cut was 7.5%. Students are worried that cuts will continue to affect the centers.

“Having centers like these with the great resources that they provide and then funding is cut, they would be diminishing all of the student’s potential in college,” said senior Isaac Gonzalez.

At UWM, there are almost 6,000 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students enrolled, and just 10 professional staff members in the four multicultural centers. 

“They have helped me so much compared to other areas in UWM and whenever I had questions about anything. I would always reach out to the Multicultural Centers and they always helped me throughout all of my four years,” said UWM student Ana Michell Ballesteros. 

The Roberto Hernandez Center will serve more than 1,800 Latinx students with two advisors, the Black Student Cultural Center will serve 705 Black students with four advisors, the Southeast Asian American Student Center serving 359 Asian and Asian American students with two advisors and the American Indian Student Center will serve 163 Indigenous students with one counselor.

“It impacts the university as a whole because these centers make students of color feel that they fit in and are welcomed,” said former UWM student Choua Chang. “The school should always support the factors that play a role in improving students’ performances and help them thrive.”

In 2017, a group including several UWM student organizations, as well as concerned students, faculty and community members formed the Coalition Against the Ultra-Right (CAUR) and stated their demands to UWM Administration, specifically to Chancellor Mark Mone. One of those demands included a pledge that student and cultural centers would not face budget cuts.

“My goal is to try to make every student feel that they have a place, so we’ll continue to work on it,” said Vang. “I know we are not where we want to be and we have many needs that are not fulfilled.”